Shadows of Hope
by MaverickKayPrime
Summary: She was only a fourteen year old mechanic. Sure, she worked at G.U.N. the greatest army in the world, but she never signed up for this! Even now, she can feel the shadows watching her, the next Robotnik attacking, and the world generally coming to an end. And her only hope, a black and red hedgehog she secretly has a crush on. Yeah... Adventure...
1. Just a Bike Ride

Just a Bike Ride

Cold machinery clashed against cold machinery. The darkness in the room gave a false sense of coolness, as the air in this room was hot. Every now and then, sparks would fly due to the clashes of steel. It would be the only light illuminating the room.

A sadist's smile grew on his aged lips. His long, brown, mustache began to waver, as he dragged his fingers along it. His blue eyes gazed toward his newest creation, and his smile only grew.

Finally, after all these years of planning... it would all come together.

His defeats, they only fueled his rage. And now, it would come to a dastardly close. Earth would be his, no matter what anyone said about anything! The Eggman Empire, will rise!

...

The sweat from her brow dragged and dragged. She needed to focus, but that was a hard thing to do with all this heat beaming down upon her. The grip she had on her wrench loosened, and she could feel it slip away. She fought on though, just a little more, just until this bolt was tightened.

Her grip increased, and she began twisting and twisting, forcing the lone bolt to grind into the metal. A smile cracked on her lips, and she licked her lips. Pushing on a bit further, she tightened and tightened until the bolt was fastened deeply into its circular groove. Pulling back, she let out a held in breath. A smile etched its way on her lips a few seconds later. Sticking out her tongue, she licked up the salty taste of her sweat. So good...

Hope Kintobor, fourteen year old genius mechanic, and quite possibly the youngest person to ever join G.U.N.

Her ocean blue eyes dragged up and down the machine before her. Black steel upon black steel was its color scheme. She hated G.U.N.'s taste, but was she any better with her red and black overalls. It didn't take long for anyone to tell why.

His mysterious brilliance. His stoic attitude. His habit of always showing up whenever anyone needed him. She surely adored him. Of course, she would never say that, ya'know, with her being a human and all.

Taking a rag, she soaked it in the bucket beside her, and began dragging it up and down the G.U.N. symbol on the vehicle's hood. She would do this every now and then, just until the vehicle's symbol shined. A shining vehicle, is a happy vehicle.

Her blue eyes traveled to its treads, and she took note of the pieces of dirt, grass, and grime inside of it. Chuckling, she wondered why the person driving this was so reckless. Reckless indeed. Taking her fingers, she began to painstakingly dig out each piece of dirt she found. Using another tool, one that vaguely resembled a pick axe, she began removing other pieces of grass. When she was done, this machine will look amazing. Just the thought of the owner's face, filled with glee, it enticed her. She knew better though, of course. She knew how he would really react, that being, no reaction at all.

Finished with the four treads, she shifted her attention elsewhere. The vehicle, she loved it so much. With her own hands, she built it, from head to toe. Hours were spent in the designing phase, just making sure this masterful mechanism would work. Its sleek design, its figure that looked like a cross between a speed boat and tank, the small stature it held to hold only a specific kind. She loved it! Especially, since it had one important detail.

Lifting the vehicle's hood, she gazed upon its intense inner workings. It shimmered brilliantly, despite the many oil stains that dragged upon it. A chuckle left her lips, as she thought about how dangerous this one stain could be. Taking her wet rag from before, she began cleaning the oil stain valiantly, in hopes that it would go away. It did, of course, because she would never leave a job half-finished. Glaring deeper into the vehicle's organs, she saw the one simple modulator, that made this creation worth it.

It shined, despite everything else. Lifting a flashlight she brought with her, she turned her lights upon this machine. The symbol gazed back with a brilliant blue color. Licking the salt from her lips again, she closely analyzed the chip in its entirety. Nothing seemed to be too out of the ordinary with it, much to her pleasure. She had heard from the driver that it was acting off. Checking the diots that stuck out of the module, she could tell it was in perfect running order, just from the simple train of her eye meaning someone wasn't using it right. She was good like that.

Finished with the engine, the young mechanic shifted her attention to the vehicle's seat. Since it was so low to the ground, there was no sense to give it a door, so she merely hopped over the side, and to the soft seat on the other side. Pressing down on it, she felt so giddy at how soft it was. She designed it with extra care, after all, and she'd hate for the driver to be uncomfortable. Being as short as she was, she was able to fit in the vehicle, despite it being made for someone of a shorter stature. Her fingers graced the side of the steering wheel. The leather object sent tingles up her fingers. Even as hard as he would grip it, it wouldn't tear, bend, or break. Once again, this was all her doing.

Her dainty mechanic fingers dragged along the buttons on the dashboard. Even though the vehicle was silent, she could still imagine the murmur and the whirl it gave when on. Such a powerful vehicle, she loved it. Slipping her finger up and down the AC button, she could only imagine why she designed such a thing. Since the vehicle's top was down 100% of the time, it was quite pointless. And yet, thinking about it, she remembered the words of old. Even a silent instrument has its place.

Finally, she brought her fingers to the keyhole. She didn't have the golden object which would turn the beast on, so she was left with little else to do but sit there. In a few minutes, the driver would be here, and she would be gone. It was unnatural for her to have such an affection, not for someone like him, at least. No matter how cool... how strong... how determined... how... nice, on occasion, he could be...

She needed to be rid of these thoughts, these thoughts of him. Right now, she needed... rest. Nothing appeared nicer in her mind than her cot right now. Just down the hall... a quick elevator ride up three floors... past the debriefing room... and the third room on the right.

Her eyes closed... yeah... that's the one...

"Hope?" his indifferent voice called.

She jerked up almost immediately. Her azul eyes darted left and right, as she searched for the speaker that awoke him. His gloved hands trekked alongside his cars edge. Locking her eyesight on the slight movement, she grew embarrassed and scared. Her eyes looked up, and she met his, as he gazed back down. A forced smile appeared on her lips a second later. Gaining the courage to speak, she said,

"Hey, Shadow..."

He remained silent against her call. Instead, his eyes grew half closed, and he dragged his fingers through his quills. His usual aloofness was replaced today. Instead, he seemed oddly... calmed. Heck, he was even wearing one of those grey jackets Rouge bought him some time ago. Hope couldn't help but find this odd, and yet, she was so mesmerized by it, she couldn't ask why.

"Hope," he said, his eyes looking away, "what are you doing in my car?"

Slowly, and probably by instinct, his arms crossed over one another. Hope's eyes twinkled. He looked so cool when he did that.

"Uh... I was just..." she grew flustered, "Cleaning it..."

His head bobbed up and down with a nod. Ruby eyes glided over his cars hood, as he noticed it shimmered with a greater shine today. Gazing down to the treads on the vehicle, he smirked at how clean and muck free they were. That must have taken all day.

"I'm... sorry, Shadow," Hope said as she removed herself from his seat, "I'll just be on my way..."

As her footsteps echoed along the pavement floors, she head another pair appear behind her. Was... was he following her?

"Hope, wait..." he said, catching her attention.

Over her shoulder, she gazed at him. He hadn't moved from his spot.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To my room..." she answered.

"Well," he commented, his hand once again grooving back his quills, "you're going to bed so soon?"

"Is... there something wrong with that?" she questioned, her cyan eyes traveling to him.

A low, almost malicious, chuckling left his lips. She loved that.

"Yeah," he answered, "it's like... six, and the sun is setting... you're going to bed so soon?"

"I have nothing else to do, today." she answered.

"C'mon," he said, stretching out his hand, "I was going out for a drive this evening. You wanna come along?"

Did he really just ask her? Seriously, did he? She... she couldn't remember the last time Shadow invited her to do anything, or if there even _was_ a last time. She, she didn't know how to react to such a question.

"Hope," Shadow said, sensing her change in demeanor, "are you okay?"

"Yes!" she said, jumping up.

His eyebrow raised as he gazed at her.

"Yes, to both, might I say..." she said, growing embarrassed.

He didn't answer her in any way, other than nodding. Shifting his attention to his car, he hopped inside in such a cool manner. Or maybe, it was Hope's young mind that made it seem cool. From his jacket, he withdrew the gold-colored key that would give the vehicle life. It hovered over the entrance slot, but Shadow didn't put it in. Gazing back to a stunned Hope, he said,

"Are you coming?"

Jolted by his sudden words, she nodded with a gleeful smile. But there was a problem. Shadow's car had only one seat. That was the one design flaw she had with it. Sure, she made it for him, and only for him, but she always felt she should have given the thought of a passenger seat a go.

So, feeling defeated, she let her shoulders fall. Shadow raised an eyebrow at the sight, and at her words.

"Shadow, I can't fit in that thing with you..." she murmured disdainfully.

Gazing down to the steering wheel, he nodded.

"Why of course." he answered, in indifference.

So, instead, he hopped out of the car, and began cycling through his keys.

"Of course the car you made for one person," he said, disappearing behind another vehicle, "would only fit one person."

With Shadow gone behind another vehicle, Hope felt alone. In some way, she blew her one chance of spending some time with Shadow. Time for bed...

The whirring of a vehicle echoed a second later, catching her attention. She glared up at the noise, and noticed a powerful light appearing from the shadows. She covered her eyes as the light blinded her. But the vehicle, it got closer, and closer. It got so close, it was almost defining, and yet Hope kept her eyes covered. A second later, she felt the touch of a hand against arm. Removing her hand from her eyes, she saw the light was gone, and replaced by Shadow. Right now, he sat on his lively motorcycle, the Dark Rider.

"This, is better." he remarked over his machine.

Turning away, he reached to his motorcycle's head and brought forth a generic G.U.N. helmet.

"I believe," he said, analyzing it, "this is good for you..."

Handing it to her, she took it apprehensively. It felt heavy in her hands, and he expected her to put it on.

"Unless you wanna go deaf," he said, "I recommend you put it on... it should make the motorcycle quieter..."

A nod came with his words, and she put it on hastily. Just as Shadow said, it got extremely quiet, as the noise of the motorcycle became as gentle as a cat's purr. Shadow's hand reached forward, and he began to strap the helmet around Hope's chin, much to her embarrassed pleasure. When he was finished with that, he shuffled up onto his bike, and allowed her a seat on it. Of course, this would mean, she would be touching his back directly.

Once his head turned away, Hope felt a rush of excitement. To be this close to Shadow, she couldn't believe it. This was, like, he dream! But she needed to slow herself down. This was just a friendly excursion... a friendly excursion with Shadow, someone who doesn't go on friendly excursions. She smiled giddily at such a simple thought. Today, she was going to be alone with Shadow.

For a little while, at least...

With a now dainty demeanor, she sat on his back-end of his bike. The simple bumping of the motorcycle sent shock waves up her spine. Maybe it was because her legs were spread apart though. Okay, now she was just thinking silly like.

And yet, she must have been doing something wrong. Shadow's head turned around to face her, and he gave her a glare with his red eyes that shot her.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" he asked rhetorically.

"Uh... no..." she answered, truthfully enough.

His eyes slanted at her meek words though, showing unhappiness. She didn't like that.

"You're such a kid, Hope." he said, his frown growing into a smirk, "Here, let me help you."

Grabbing a hold of her right hand, he laid it on his waist, and then grabbing a hold of her left hand he once again laid it on his waist. The motion was so quick, and yet to Hope, it was forever. An eternity she didn't mind spending. Her fingers moved through the fur on his body, and the warmth he gave off touched upon her pleasure centers.

She had issues. That's for sure...

"Hey, Hope, you ready?" he asked.

"Yes... Shadow..." she said, hoping he didn't hear her slurred words.

Looking back to his vehicle he gave a secret grin, one Hope didn't see. Pulling on the gas, he caused the beast under their legs to shake and growl. Even over the loud noise, he could hear Hope jerk and silently scream in fear. His grin grew.

Pulling back on the gas handle, he sent the motorcycle forward, over the smooth pavement of the G.U.N. parking lot. Hope's eyes gazed back and forth at the many vehicles they passed. She felt so little for some reason.

Shadow's speed increased, and the duo flew past a few moving vehicles. Once again, the midnight hedgehog caused his motorcycle to howl, but only to intimidate his passenger. Each time the vehicle screamed, he could feel Hope's grip tightened. She was so childish.

The exit came about a few seconds later. Though they couldn't see the sun itself, the rays it beamed through the entrance was tantalizing. The force of the Dark Rider increased, and the vehicle dashed out of the exit, screaming wildly as it did so. Hope squeezed her eyes shut tightly, as she was so scared by the rapidly blurring images that passed her. Weren't they supposed to have checkpoints that guarded the pathway to G.U.N.

Thinking about this, she gained the courage to open her eyes. Just as she feared, the blurring background hadn't returned to normal. They were moving so fast, she could see her hair fly out the back of her helmet. Dragging her eyes to the ground, she could only see black, white, and grey colors, blind into one another. She just wanted Shadow to slow down, for only a few seconds at least.

Gazing a head of them, she saw a checkpoint with its gate closed. A smile of happiness grew on her face, for Shadow had to stop. That was all she needed. But instead, his speed increased. The Dark Rider between their legs got faster and faster, much to Hope's displeasure. Diving her head into Shadow's head, she enveloped her eyes in darkness, while a scream left her lips. Shadow grew oddly empowered by her sounds. Training his eyes forward, he prepared for a very specific maneuver. Of course, had he been alone, he would have easily performed it, without a second thought. But with Hope's added weight, he needed to be certain. Just gaze forward, and lean, right under the checkpoints outstretched hand.

Pulling on the gas, he increased the Dark Rider's speed. A smile grew on his lips, and, with great finesse, he jerked to the side, sending his bike into a lean. Hope's scream grew louder, as she felt gravity go straight to her side. The bike made a howl, as it was forced to one way, and it gracefully slid underneath the checkpoint's gate. Safely on the other side, Shadow was able to return the bike to its natural setting, of two wheels on the ground, and standing. Looking back to Hope, he saw her eyes were tightly shut behind her helmet.

"Hope," he said, "you can look now."

With his words in her mind, she gained the courage to see. Her blue eyes gazed forward, and all she saw was one, long, endless road, with grassy hills on both sides. Turning away, she gazed back at the G.U.N. base they just left. Being on the other side, she smiled as she saw the great green base grow smaller and smaller as they drove away. Her eyes went away a few seconds later, causing her to see the city they were heading toward.

Radical City... it was a great place, filled with so much lights and fun. Hope had gone down to it quite a few times, but only when she was with a certain bat named Rouge. It was strange, since her home laid on a mountain overlooking the city. Every night, she would open her window, and gaze upon the gleaming city, as the wind brushed along her face. She adored that feeling.

And now, she was going down to the city streets with... _him_... This had to be a dream come true. Well, minus the crazy fast driving, that is.

The Dark Rider that howled under their legs, came to an eventual slow, as Shadow's grip on the gas faltered. A certain face of disappointment grew upon Hope's face, oddly enough. The blurring backdrop, slowly came together, and formed visible constructs once more. Grass pedals were visible, trees, clouds, the road, everything. And she didn't like it.

The bike drove off the road a moment later, and came upon a small grass clearing. The wheels on the Dark Rider gave out a whispering murmur, before stopping silently. The bike stopped its jerking a moment later, and Shadow removed the keys from its head. Kicking up the Dark Rider's stand, he leaned his bike on the side, and got up from its seat. As he laid his hands inside his jacket's pockets, he walked over to the guard rail before him. And then, growing silent, he gazed upon the city, and eventually the horizon, with his ruby eyes.

Hope hadn't even gotten from her seat, not yet, at least. As she removed the helmet from her head, the wind from the mountain glided along her face. A smile grew on her lips, as the wind cooled her face, and the sound bent against her ear. Just being out of that base was a treat.

And yet, she wanted more. Her blue eyes traveled over to Shadow, and she just watched in silence as he gazed upon the sunset evening. Hope's smile grew fainter, but remained strong never the less. Getting up from the motorcycle, she tip toed over to Shadow's being. His demeanor never changed, even as she got closer and closer. It wasn't until her tender hand came upon his shoulder, that he noticed her.

"I like this place," he murmured lowly, his voice as cool as usual, "so calm... so silent... its nice."

Was he... was he... opening up to her? With Shadow's attention elsewhere, she took the time to give a face filled with glee, even if this was just for the moment.

"How 'bout you, Hope?" he said, gazing at her, "Do you have a special place where you go to be alone?"

For some reason, she couldn't get the power to speak up. This caused Shadow to grin.

"You probably enjoy being alone, in your mechanical caves... working and working..."

"That's not true..." she murmured, as if by reflex.

Catching onto her words, Shadow let out a chuckle.

"Oh, is that so?" he said, withdrawing his hands, "Then tell me... what does Hope Kintobor do when she needs alone time?"

But, she was without answer. Lifting her fingers to her mouth, she thought about Shadow's simple question. What, _does_, she do to get some alone time? As sad is it was, she would work on the various vehicles G.U.N. had. Her job, was her alone time. But she couldn't tell Shadow that. He was so cool, how would he react if she told him she just... works?

"Uh... I... don't know..." she answered, simply enough.

Shadow's lips began to quiver, and as he turned away, a laugh accompanied him. That one gesture, made Hope feel sick to her stomach. His laugh, it belittled her. She just wanted to, fade away, into nothing.

"Yeah... I don't know..." he said a second later, "I know how you feel..."

And just as easily as he cut her down, he brought her up.

"I once was like that," he continued, "never having a... place to myself. I use to wonder around endlessly, sometimes with Omega, most of the time by myself." he looked to her, "It sucks, to put it lightly."

Yeah, it does...

A gust of wind rattled his quills, and caused Hope to wilt for warmth. Shadow noticed this, and removed his jacket shortly after.

"Here," he said, handing it to her, "you'll catch a cold..."

"Thanks Shadow," she said, taking it from him, "but, won't you get cold?"

"Please," he said with a chuckle, "I'm covered from head to toe in fur... I'm alright, should I say."

Once again, he made Hope feel childish. But, she didn't feel as pathetic as before. He told a joke, after all.

"I like you, Hope." Shadow said, whilst wagging his finger.

Turning away, he made his way back to the Dark Rider. Hope, however, remained frozen by his words. He said it in a friendly sort of way, and yet Hope couldn't help but feel like he meant something more by it. It must have been her adolescent mind playing tricks on her, but she didn't care. He said, 'I like you, Hope' and that's all that mattered.

"Hope?" he called from his motorcycle, "Hope, are you alright?"

Gazing at him, she gave a weak smile. Her knees were trembling.

"Yeah, I'm fine..."

"Let me bring you home," he remarked, "I don't want anyone throwing a fit over your absence."

Once more, he cranked up his bike, allowing it to roar against the land. But Hope wouldn't move. Her eyes gazed at his figure, and she just felt the need to ask him something. It would be now, or never.

"Hey Shadow," she said, her face growing into a weird combination of fear and embarrassment, "I... wanna ask you something..."

His eyebrow raised, showing interest.

"And that would be?" he questioned.

"Uh... you..." her face grew cherry red, "Can I..."

"Hope, are you sure you're okay?"

"Can I come with you, tonight?" she said quickly, gazing to the ground.

For a few seconds, all she could hear was the roaring of the cycle's engine. And then it died.

"What was that?" he asked, his ears twitching.

"Oh nothing!" she yelled, "Just take me back! It was silly of me to ask!"

Now she really felt stupid. Only Shadow could make her feel a rush of emotions like this. And right now, she both hated, and loved him. Sliding the helmet over her head, she prayed he couldn't see the faint tears falling from her eyes. In fact, she didn't even want to ride with him back to the base. She wouldn't have minded if she walked back, anything to escape the embarrassment swelling up inside of her.

"Fine," he said, through the wind, "get on, I'll take you with me."

Did she just hear what she thought she heard? Did Shadow actually say yes?

"Hope!" he said louder, "Hurry up, before I change my mind!"

Through the helmet's visor, she looked at him. His eyes remained cold and stoic, even as she stood before him. Twisting the keys in his bike once more, he sent its wild roar above all.

"Hope!" he called, "Are you coming!"

Weakly through force, she nodded.

"Yes!" she cried, sending Shadow back.

"Goooood..." he slurred, "Then hurry up, we don't have all night."

Night... night... night...

As she ran toward the bike, everything else faded into obscurity. Just one night...

Wait a second... where did Shadow live?

"I hope you don't mind loud noises," he said as she arrived at the bike, "Rouge's club runs off into the night."

Oh right... that's where he lived... oh well, no going back now...


	2. Club Rouge

Club Rouge

The soft feel of his fur on her fingers, the trembling rumbles of the bike under her legs, and the wind rushing past her skin. It was like the perfect sleeping pill ever made.

She hadn't known when she fell asleep. It was probably around the time the light from the sun died off, and the lights of Radical City came on. But, she wasn't in Radical City anymore.

When blue eyes opened, they revealed to her a darker metropolis, filled with buildings taller than she could conceive. City streets were illuminated by bright lights, advertising things much to adult for her.

Live Nude Girls Here!

666 Ring Bar!

Golden Nights Casino!

Love NiGHTS Hotel!

All these things made Hope feel sick to her stomach. Just gazing at these stores, casinos, bars, and clubs, invoked all these images of Vegas. She had never been to the city, but she imagined it was close to this.

Shadow's driving had long since become stable. Instead of roaring with speed, it now cruised with silent indifference, much like his personality. It was probably because the streets in Night Babylon were always packed with cars. Every time Shadow's speed would increase, it would go back down to none, always because of an oncoming car. And yet, noticing his partner had just awoken, he decided to play a little game. Of course, she didn't know he knew she was awake.

Twisting on the gas, he jerked the Dark Rider under their legs, increasing its speed. The wind around them started to fly by, and they began to rapidly approach a four-way intersection. Cars were packed together pretty tightly though, giving no reason for his increase in speed. Though he didn't look at her, he could tell Hope was getting a bit scared. The grip she held on his waist did nothing but increase.

With a low sadistic chuckle, Shadow's speed grew. Passing by car after car, he got even closer to the intersection ahead. With another push of the gas, he jerked his vehicle forward. Weaving to the side, he dodged a car with little time to spare. Hope screamed, egging him forward. As another car began to approach, he jerked to the other side, causing his wheel to lightly graze the side of the other vehicle. Hope's grip tightened, and she let out another moan of fear. From both sides, cars appeared, as Shadow was now in the center of the intersection. Powerful high beams glared down upon their position, while the blaring of horns roared in their ears. And yet, Shadow never slowed. With another push of the gas, he grew even faster. He could hear her, Hope, whispering 'stop' in his ears. And yet, he continued to ignore her. Not until they passed this area, that is.

As the cars around them grew closer and closer, Shadow's driving grew even more wild and erratic. He drove between two, squeezing just barely inside with the vehicle's small frame. They were so close, the two riders could see the drivers of the other car through the windshield. Hope would have found this amazing, had she not been so terrified.

"Shadow!" she barked, shaking her head, "Please stop!"

His ears twitched. The time for bothering her was over.

"Ah, Hope," he said, with a smile, "I hadn't noticed you were awake."

She didn't believe him of course.

"You jerk..." she grumbled just loud enough that he could hear it.

A uproarious laugh exited Shadow's mouth seconds later, showing the young mechanic he knew what he was doing all along. If only he could see the look of utter resentment she was giving him right now. Or maybe he did... who knows, he's Shadow.

"Don't worry Hope," he remarked as his laughter died, "we're almost there."

Her eyes spotted it in the distant. It was sad to say, that Hope had never seen, nor been, to Club Rouge before. In fact, this was the first time she had ever stepped foot in Night Babylon. But Club Rouge, it was... something else.

The roof had three tower structures on it that looked like the roofs of a middle eastern temple. Ya'know, the one that swirls at the very end. Flashing at the top, its lights a fusion of multiple dark colors such a green, a washed out blue, red, purple and black, was the neon sign stating 'Club Rouge'. Occasionally, it would change its title, to casino, or something like that, but for the most part, 'Club Rouge' got top billing. Hope was secretly mesmerized by the image of the approaching building. She had heard many tales of the club, straight from Rouge herself, but the bat would always steal herself from getting to in-depth. She never knew why, but she understood it had to do with, quote unquote, adult situations. Shadow was driving her there right now though, so it couldn't have been _that_ bad.

Boy, her heart was racing.

Instead of parking out front, alongside the many other vehicles, Shadow opted to drive down a dark alley behind the great casino. Even as she was outside, Hope could hear the noises of music and gambling. She couldn't wait anymore. The Dark Rider bumped alongside the ground, and finally came to a great silver shutter door. Coming to an abrupt stop, Shadow shifted his attention to the silver entryway. At the edge, where the door met the cement wall, was a high-tech keypad. Shadow's gloved fingers trekked up the silver component, and began tapping a series of numbers. He pressed them so fast, Hope had no way of telling what the code was. She was almost sure Shadow did this on purpose.

The silver shutter door made a noise akin to bending metal, and slowly began lifting. It moved up and up, until it disappeared into the ceiling above. On the other end, complete and utter darkness. Hope's heart began to race, but for a completely different reason.

Shadow flipped a switch on his bike, which caused its powerful high beams to illuminate the insides. And yet, Hope could still see nothing. Driving inside, she found it weird how the loud blaring noise of music overrided everything else. That was the only solace she could find in this dark atmosphere.

"Hey, Hope, you alright?" Shadow questioned, his ruby eyes glaring behind.

"Uh... why you ask?" she answered, smugly enough.

"You're grip got tighter all of a sudden," he said grinning, "you're such a kid..."

If only he would stop calling her that. She hated being called a kid, especially by him.

"I'm... no kid..." she said under her breath, hoping he didn't hear her.

Though his ears twitched, he never answered her. Probably for the best.

The Dark Rider came to a stop, and let out a muttering cry. Slapping his foot up, Shadow set up the kick stand, and laid the beast on its side. His fingers slid off the Dark Rider's handle bars, floated through the air, and attached themselves to Hope's helmet. She prayed he couldn't see her blush through the darkness.

"Let me help you with this." he whispered as his fingers danced across the helmet straps.

When she was free of the object, she felt cool air rush along her face. She hadn't even noticed how dark this parking area was.

"I recommend you watch your step," Shadow warned as he placed the helmet down, "you don't wanna run into one of Rouge's many cars."

"But, Shadow," Hope protested, "I can't see, it's so dark..."

"Here," he remarked, grabbing a hold of her warm hand help you, "let me help you kid."

The next thing Hope knew, she was being guided somewhere. Just feeling Shadow's gloved hand against her's was... amazing. She was really childish, she had to be. If only a slight touch from this man made her so weak in the knees, she had a lot more growing up to do.

The first gleam of light came from a door that slid open in half. Shadow step forward first, and brought Hope into an elevator much greater than her. The walls were a shimmering gold, that was cleaned to perfection. It was so well done, Hope could see her own reflection. And yet, she paid attention most to her hand being gripped so tightly by Shadow's. Had he noticed they were away from the darkness, or was he just holding it to be nice? She wouldn't know, not now at least. It didn't matter though, she was currently trying not to reveal the growing blush on her face.

With a quick touch of a button, the elevator slid up and up. The noise of music grew ever so loud, making Hope feel sure that the epicenter was mind-boggling. And yet it only enticed Hope further. As her eyes floated toward the elevator's ceiling, she began to wonder. Just where did Shadow live? What was the place he would retreat to for silence and solitude. Club or not, she wanted to know. Just... a bit... further...

The elevator doors. They opened.

And the music was overwhelming.

Hope jerked back, as the ear-splitting noise probably damaged her eardrums. Yet Shadow remained stoic against the annoying music. He only showed concern when he looked at Hope's hurt face.

"Are you okay?" he asked of her.

But she didn't hear him of course. Gazing forward, she could see a smile growing.

"Oh, I see." he remarked.

His grip on her hand increased, and Shadow brought her out to the club before her.

What was a club? Never being to one before, Hope ran that thought through her mind. She was only fourteen, so all the information she had on clubs came from movies and TVs. So, of course, she thought it was a building filled with debauchery, sex, drugs, gambling, and other things that goes bump in the night. And she was oh, so, right.

Shadow passed by many drunken fools on the floor, while other's slammed the hands down on many slot machines. Some were lucky, while other's weren't so. There was a dance floor near the center, filled with people 'dancing'. I put that in quotations, as the 'dancing' they were doing should have stayed in the bedrooms, let alone in public. Hope's eyes were attracted to it, only by the fact that she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

To her right, there were a couple of men fighting. They were hurling insults, among other things at one another. Sure, their friends tried to stop them, but they did little when one threw a punch at another. A brawl was on the way. Did Rouge have bodyguards? They would be really necessary right now. Well, she did have _a_ bodyguard.

Even with the loud music, the young mechanic could hear his heavy footsteps. Like a mountain was falling, that was the noise he produced. Mechanical feet clashed against cold flooring, and suddenly a silver claw appeared on an empty slot machine. He pulled him over a second later, and revealed himself to all.

E-123 Omega stood before all. His red optics, despite lacking emotion, still gave off the presence of terror. His claw removed itself from the slot machine it gripped, and shifted their dangerous blades over to his new friends. Those brawling idiots better be careful now.

"You two!" Omega roared, his voice as monotone as usual, "Stop this fight immediately, or face the consequences!"

Maybe it was because of the loud music. They, didn't answer him. To bad. In Club Rouge, you only get one warning.

Omega stepped forward, while a certain malicious air settled upon the area. Was Shadow watching this? Hope had to ponder that thought, as the duo had stopped for no reason. Looking over to him, she confirmed her own thoughts. He stood, arms crossed, while a grin watched the eventual carnage.

The men who were quarreling were suddenly lifted up, high above their own feet. Omega's head whirled to them, and scanned the faces of fear they gave off. Pulling them away from each other, he suddenly slammed them, head first, into one another. The noise of crackling skull echoed, even over the music. Both bodies went limp in Omega's hand, and the only noise anyone heard, was the music.

He released the grip he held on the fools, and let them drop to the floor like bags. Lifting his finger, he said in his usual monotone voice,

"Only... one..." and yet, even without emotion, it still gave off intense fear.

Omega's body shifted up, and his red optics scanned those around.

"Don't be alarmed," he announced, "it is over..." but anyone could tell he didn't even care. Those were words Rouge told him to say.

With the little fight over, everyone returned to their club night fun. Just ignore the hulking robot and have fun... or else...

His mechanical feet stepped forward as he scanned a being that was out of placed. Coming closer and closer, Hope felt her heart beat thump and thump. Why was she so scared? Omega loved her, right? In all of G.U.N. she was the only, the _only_, mechanic he allowed to work on her. But, that was at work, not here. What would he do?

Pick her up, that's what he would do. Holding her in his cold muscular arms, he said to the blonde girl,

"Hope... how are you this evening?"

She giggled in his mechanical hands and said,

"Fine, Omega..."

"Question, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Shadow brought me... for the night..."

His red eyes flickered a green color, showing he was scanning her. A slight nod came from his head, and he said,

"It seems you wish to mate with Shadow..."

In all honestly, she wanted to puke at his words. How the hell did he figure that out so fast? Was he installed with a mind reading chip? Well, it's not like Hope would ever want to mate with Shadow anyway... well...

"No, no, no!" she yelled out in embarrassment, "That's not it at all!"

Her head twisted around suddenly, as she searched feverishly for Shadow. Oh, she prayed he hadn't heard Omega's words. When she found him, he was standing next to some beautiful mobian vixen woman. She was dressed in a suit, and held a silver platter of drinks in her hand. A questioning glance exited Hope's eyes, and she began scanning the woman closely. She said something, giggled, and continued talking. Shadow, on the other hand, remained as stoic as ever, his face only giving off mild amusement at best. She was flirting with him, Hope could tell, and Shadow just didn't care. But still... no one flirts with Shadow.

The fox handed Shadow a drink from her platter, waved, then walked off with a sexy smile. Who was she? Hope didn't like her...

As quickly as he got it, Shadow drank down the liquid substance. What was it, Hope wasn't sure. Did Shadow drink? It looked like some alcoholic beverage, but she wasn't sure. It had the same brown color, with the same frothy white top. Maybe it was beer. Gosh, she was learning so much about Shadow in such a short amount of time. Wait... did he notice the face she was giving him? He was looking directly at her.

Hope twisted around, and faced the cold chest belonging to Omega. With her attention returned, the robot began talking again.

"I see," he said, scanning the increase in blood and heat in her cheeks, "Shadow shall be the one to show you a room," Omega's head shifted skyward, and so did his free hand. With one silver claw in a pointed position, he showed the young mechanic a balcony belonging to a second floor, "our rooms are up there. Do not worry, it get's much quieter up there."

With a nod, Hope answered his words. When he placed her down, she feel of his cold limbs escape her. Omega gave a quick nod, turned away, and disappeared in the lights of the club. For some reason, Hope felt way over her head. Why did she even ask Shadow to come with him? Why did he say yes? Ugh, it was making her brain hurt. But there was no way she was going back home now... not now...

"Hope, are you sure you're alright?" Shadow questioned, gaining her attention, "You keep dazing off."

Though her mouth opened, the words would not form. So... she shrugged. This, of course, caused Shadow to call her a kid... again...

"Come on," he said, seconds later, "I don't think this is quite the place for you..."

Oh, now he notices...

"Let me take you to Rouge," he continued, "this is her home, after all..."

Along the floor he walked with Hope, their hands entertained with one another. He brought her past more pinball machines, roulette tables, bars, more slot machines, booths for... _service_, tables, and finally to a staircase leading up. Up the long staircase they went, until they came to the second floor. This went on for a few more feet, until they came to yet another doorway. On the other end, another staircase. Hope would've groaned, but not in front of Shadow. This was his home, after all. So, up this second staircase they went, and the higher they got, the quieter the music became. Also, the layout and the designs of the walls changed drastically. They were no longer dark and dismal colors, as associated with the club below, now it was a shimmering white, one that matched the fur of a certain bat Hope knew. When the staircase finished, the duo came upon a strange change in venue. It was wide and spacious, with clean white marble floors. In the center of the huge room, an imprint of a Chaos Emerald. Of... course...

The room had many halls stretching from it. Hope gazed down all of them with her blue eyes, and just wondered where they all went. As she and Shadow passed a window, the mechanic took the time to examined the outside. As said before, Club Rouge had three tower-like structures. Hope assumed they were in the middle one, as she could see another tower far away. She also assumed, this was Shadow, Rouge, and Omega's living quarters. But, for tonight, this would be hers as well.

"So," Hope said, making small talk, "did Rouge put a mansion in here?"

"You can say that," Shadow answered, "these halls go on for so long... I get lost some times..."

Yeah right... he was just trying to make her laugh.

"Even now," he suddenly said, turning to her, "I haven't the slightest clue where I'm going..."

Was it only around Hope that he acted like this? Sure, whenever Shadow told a joke, his voice was so flat it was hard to tell. But, they were jokes nonetheless. And, Hope had never heard him tell one when he was around other people. So... it had to be because he was around her.

When he stopped suddenly, however, she thought otherwise. No... Shadow was genuinely lost... perfect... Well, she could dream otherwise.

"Darn you Rouge," the hedgehog murmured, his head turning to and fro, "I really... hate your taste in design."

She must have heard him, because like a ninja in the night, the bat appeared from virtually nowhere.

"What was that, Shadow?" she questioned in an annoyed tone.

For a while, teal eyes were locked on ruby ones. And then, teal eyes were locked on blue ones. Rouge stepped back, hand on her chest, as a confused visage laid upon her face. She wasn't the same as the usual sultry bat. No, this Rouge looked a bit less... sexy. No mascara, no lipstick, no eyeliner, no nothing. In fact, her clothing too, was dull... super dull... it was just a t-shirt, and some sweat pants. Wow... Hope would have never thought in a million years she'd see the bat like this.

"Hope?" Rouge said, her tone a question, "Shadow!" she suddenly said, her tone angry.

"Hope asked to stay with us, for the night," he answered, "is that a problem?"

"It is when you don't tell me before hand! This is my home, Shadow! Remember that! You only stay here!"

He nodded, while his face gave off annoyance.

"I'm... sorry Rouge," Hope said, growing embarrassed, "if I knew you'd get so angry... I would've stayed home..."

Oh man did she feel sucky...

"Oh don't sweat it, Hope," Rouge said, smiling, "I just can't stand Shadow and his lack of warning people, is all..."

Turning away, she once again began to flaunt her body.

"If I knew you'd be coming... I'd look more presentable..."

Her spirits lifted, Hope smiled.

"Uh... thanks Rouge..." she said.

"Think nothing of it sweetie," and then, the bat's face grew slightly unhappy, "but Shadow," she continued, "I need you down at the club. If you're going to have guests over, you're gonna be working."

Crossing his arms, he gave her a face of unhappiness. Regardless of his state of mind though, he nodded.

"Sure Rouge," he said, "whatever you say..."

When did Rouge get so much power over Shadow? If they were at the base, he would have scoffed and then walked off. People are so much different at home than at work. Turning around, Shadow stepped off from Hope with his arms crossed. Giving her one last look though, he said, cryptically enough,

"I'll check up on you later..."

What did he mean by that? Before she could ask him, he was gone, in a yellow flash. Huh... after the whole bike ride, she forgot he could run faster than light. But now... she was alone... what next?

"Hey, Hope," Rouge said, "are you okay? You seem out of it today."

Maybe she was loosing her mind... if one more person called her out on it, she'd need to see a doctor...

"I'm fine, Rouge." and boy were those words becoming her calling card.

"Seeing as you're still wearing your work clothes," Rouge said, scanning her, "I assume you didn't bring anything to sleep in, hmm?"

Gazing down to her body, she saw oil and dirt stained overalls with a red shirt gazing back. Once again embarrassed, she said,

"Well... it was kind of a spur of the moment kind of thing..."

Rouge fiddled her finger in her hair for a few seconds before saying with an inquisitive eye,

"Uh-huh, yeah... follow me... and take those clothes off, they're dingy..."

Hope's face shot red at those words.

"What!?" she questioned.

"You heard me."

...

How many blisters laid on her fingers? As Hope soaked in the soapy bubbles of the bath tub, she thought on that subject. All on her fingers, lied the colors black and brown, born from hours of hard labor. In fact, the colors also simmered in the water underneath. It too, had been dyed brown by the dirt on her fingers, toes, and bodies. Normally, the young mechanic took a shower, but in a bath, when she could see the dirt stain her body, it was... unsettling.

She felt unsure of herself, and weak even. Leaning her head back, she laid her head on the tub's edge. How could Shadow ever like a girl like her? Not only was she a human, she was also always dirty for one reason or another. Plus, she was a kid... as he loved to say. If only he knew how she really felt. But, if he knew, Hope was sure she would die from embarrassment. Embarrassment...

"Boy," Hope said aloud, "you're a tough girl to work with." she was referring to herself... of course.

"Yes... you... are..." another voice answered.

Hope's blue eyes shot wide open. Leaning up from the bath tub, she gazed around. Where did that come from? Who said that?

"What's wrong?" the same voice called, "Are you okay?"

The water Hope sat in began to bubble, as if it were boiling hot. But it wasn't... The liquid shifted from the brown color Hope made it into, to a black color of unknown origin. She wanted to scream, but she merely remained frozen. Just... long enough to learn what was causing this. Hopefully...

The black liquid began to ripple. In a circular fashion, it created waves from a center point directly opposite of Hope. In an attempt to distance herself from it, she scooted away, only to be stopped by the tub's edge. The water rippled and rippled, before a strange object appeared. It oozed out of the water's surface, and dripped onto the floor. Hope's eyes followed the creäture closely, even as it began moving erratically. It looked like a dark puddle, one that resonated a purple aura.

"Ah, yesssss," it slurred, "look at what we have here..."

The black puddle began floating.

"Hope Kintobor... Dr. Robotnik's niece."

Hope froze. No one, no one! Knew she was Robotnik's cousin.

"What the," she said, shaking, "what are you!?"

The puddle didn't answer. Instead, it began laughing. Its laugh grew louder and louder, and grew near ear-splitting.

"Just," it said, sadistically enough, "your shadow!"

Suddenly, the black puddle of darkness lunged itself forward. Thrusting past Hope's body, it ultimately collapsed into her shadow, causing a dark mist to resonate. This dark mist flowed into the air, and ultimately blinding the mechanic before it.

Hope's eyes opened slowly a few moments later. What she saw, was herself. But, was it herself? Its skin was pale in comparison to hers, and its hair was a dark grey color. Also unlike Hope, this being wore her iconic shirt and overalls. Unlike hers, the red shirt was a dim grey, while the overalls remained as black as usual. But all these attributes paled in comparison to two gleaming, noticeable, features. Whatever this creäture was, it lacked a mouth, and had shining, green, snake-like eyes.

And its voice remained the same demonically charged male voice as before.

"Not what I would have liked," he said, scanning himself, "but it will do..."

Hope couldn't speak. Just looking at this thing... just... looking at her. But, was it her? What was it? Wait... why did she feel like she was drowning? She was above water, but she felt water rush into her lungs and nose. Grabbing her throat, she choked and choked, while the being before laughed and laughed.

Hope's blue eyes shot open, and she lunged above the water. Coughing up, she spat out bits and pieces of water. Glaring around, she didn't see a dark puddle, or a dark version of herself. Nope, the bathroom was the same as she left it. A pleased sigh escaped her lips. It was all a nightmare. Thank the Heavens!

Laying her hand on her chest, she took in many deep breaths.

"I think," she said aloud, "it's time I got out of here."

Stepping out of the bathtub, she moved over to the slung bathrobe on the side. From what Rouge said, it was small enough for the human girl to fit it. Still, even she could tell it was created for someone a bit... bustier. And maybe with an hourglass body... oh man... Hope was hating herself.

After drying her body off, she slid the white puffy robe around her body. Tying it up, a second later, she was gone.

With wet feet, she walked down the marble walls. The fifth door on the right, that's what Rouge said. This would be her room for the night. Her fingers slid on the door, and opened it up. Just as Rouge said, she left a nice pair of clothing for her. A night-gown, with night sandals. Once again, it looked like it was made for someone with a more voluptuous figure. But, it was all Rouge had for her. So, removing the robe from her body, she slid on the silky night-gown and night sandals. With that done, she took out the time to scan the room.

For a guest room, it was surprisingly small. From one end to another, Hope could probably walk it in five seconds. In fact, it may have been the same size of Hope's dormitory back at the G.U.N. base. Oddly enough. And yet, there was still a mirror, right in front of her. Maybe Rouge was a bit to vain.

The fourteen year old looked at herself in the mirror, and marveled at the image. With this silky robe laced on her body, she felt oddly... sexy... Had that thought ever crossed her mind before? It did when it came to thinking about Rouge, but the bat oozed sex appeal. Never before, had Hope ever thought herself as... sexy...

The door opened. Hope locked up. Stepping in the doorway, his ruby eyes as indifferent as always, was Shadow. Hope kept her back turned toward him though, as a look of pure embarrassment was placed on her face.

"Shadow! Haven't you ever heard of knocking!" she roared.

He said nothing though. In fact, everything stayed like this for a while. A moment in silence, if you will.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, "I wasn't... paying attention..."

Pressing her fingers on her cheeks, she gained the strength to face him. She didn't face him full frontal, and only turned her head. Oh boy.

He was dressed. A white vest over his shoulders, and a black tie around his neck.

"You'll have to forgive me," he said, stretching out his hands, "Rouge has this stupid clothing rule... I have to wear this..."

Is that so bad? Boy, Hope found him irresistable.

"I just came to say goodnight." he said, turning away.

"Uh... thanks... Shadow..." the mechanic answered.

"Now... what is it you... humans say? Oh yes... don't let the bed bugs bite."

And then, as soon as he arrived, he was gone. Out the room, in a yellow flash. Stepping forward, Hope stared out her doorway toward his fleeing image. A smile etched itself on her lips, and she closed the door behind him. Sure, she was crazy, she was in love with a mobian. But boy did he look different from usual. Cooler... maybe... like some sort of, Hedgehog James Bond.

Seriously though, she needed to get her mind evaluated after this.

Falling on the bed before her, she gazed long out the window. The lights of Night Babylon was a lot like brighter than Radical City's. Maybe it was because Hope was in the city itself, and not on the mountain overlooking it. Still, it gave off the same shining aura. Standing from the bed, she slid up the window before her. Cool air rushed along her face, and cooled her down. Smiling, she just wondered. Wondered... wondered... wondered...

About...

Jade...

Green...

Eyes...

Her heart locked up.


	3. Nocturnal Nightmares

Nocturnal Nightmares

The cold air from the AC brushed alongside Hope's skin. Fluttering open, her blue eyes scanned the small room she was staying in. The music from the club had died down, and all that remained from the floors below, was silence. Rouge really did love to party.

The mechanic wasn't alone in her rest though. The beeps and horns of cars outside resonated through her window, and to her ears. Unlike most people, she wasn't annoyed by the noises, and found them to be quite mesmerizing. Just a beep here... a horn there...

A smile grew on her lips a second later. Ah, so peaceful. But... nature calls.

Hope felt her stomach grumble and toil. Had she had dinner yesterday? She wasn't sure. Save for a sandwich before she left the G.U.N. base, she was sure she had nothing at all. And yet, the urge for the bathroom screamed louder than usual. Boy...

Removing the covers from her body, she took the time to gaze down at her night-gown adorned body. Since it was made for Rouge, it was very cleavage exposing, to say the least. Honestly, it wasn't something Hope had noticed until now. Just thinking about it though, made her wonder about her allies at G.U.N. How would they feel if they saw her in this right now. The thought made her feel embarrassed beyond belief, and it all stemmed from her own mind. She could see them now. Mocking her, laughing at her, finding her childish. All because of this simple night-gown. Had she been at home, she would have worn nothing but a t-shirt and maybe some pants to bed. But, hey, when it Rome...

Pulling her feet off of the bed's side, she outstretched her arms and yawned. Gazing toward the window above her bed, she saw the many colors of life ranging from the morning sun. Red's blended in with oranges, and yellows, and blues, and purples, it was beautiful. Hope always loved the morning sun. Dragging her eyes elsewhere, she saw something not so nice though.

Her reflection in the mirror revealed something awful to her. The blonde curls she called hair was frizzled and ruined, much to her ire. Dragging her fingers through it, she tried to unraveled the tangled coils, but to no avail. For now, she'd have to deal with it.

Groaning, the mechanic pulled the gown up on her cleavage. Blue eyes traveled across the bedroom, and dainty feet guided her out of the small guest room. As her head poked out of the doorway, her blue eyes traveled down dark corridors. The halls of Rouge's upstairs mansion was dismal and dark, even in the morning sun. To add to that, it was cold. Really cold. The wind blowing through the halls ruffled her locks, and sent chills running up her spine. She needed to find a bathroom through this? Well, it could have been worse...

Dragging her naked feet out, she started to tip toe over the cold marble floors. To her surprise, the flooring was so clean, she could see her reflection in it. This ment, anyone who was standing at the perfect position, could see right under her night-gown. How had she not noticed this before?

Slamming her hands down on the gown's ruffles, she tried her best to cover her legs and panties. This was, by far, the most embarrassed she's ever been. At least, no one was around to noticed.

"Nice body there." a certain bat's voice teased.

Hope's face turned cherry red, as she felt the bat's naked hand glide across her shoulder. Rouge's face came into eyesight, and her teal eyes scanned Hope's red face. A second later, a sultry giggle exited her lips, as she came to realize Hope's demeanor.

"Oh, Hope," she said, "I was just teasing."

Before her, Rouge hovered, her wings flapping nonchalantly. Unlike the girl, Rouge had on, of course, silky lingerie. Fortunately, it wasn't the revealing kind, though it was close. Seriously, it looked as if Rouge's breast were just screaming to spill out. The bat kept them in check, for now at least.

"Uh, what are you doing awake so early..." Hope asked, weakly.

"Oh sweetie," Rouge said, "I'm a bat, you should know the answer to that question, you are a genius after all..."

Nodding her head, the adolescent girl confirmed her friends words.

"Good, now what are you doing awake so early? I know Commander doesn't have you on such a tight leash at work."

"I uh... just needed to use the bathroom..." Hope said, her blush returning.

"Oh, that's easy," Rouge turned away, and pointed down the hall, "past Shadow's room, on the left."

Hope nodded, while in her head she screamed. Of course it would be pass Shadow's room, of course! Thanking Rouge, she once again started tip toeing on. If she was quiet enough, she wouldn't run into Shadow, and he wouldn't have to see her dressed in such a way. But... what if he liked the way she looked? No, that was silly. Shadow was attracted to other Mobians, like Rouge, not humans like her. Still, she could dream, right?

Wait... now that she thought about it, where was Shadow's room? The last she saw of him, he was speeding downstairs to help Rouge with her club. Maybe he was asleep. That sounded right, even Shadow needed sleep, as immortal as he was. Then again, maybe not.

The one door opened in the hall, and she knew it was his. How? Well, her life would just be filled with such a thing. Right there, open wide for everyone to see. Was Shadow's room. She wanted to see inside, just a peek. Just... one... peak...

Her golden hair bobbed over the edge, and her blue eyes followed shortly. Shadow's room... this is how it looked...

It was bigger than the room she slept in just a few seconds ago. In fact, it was bigger than her room at the G.U.N. base. The bed was king sized, with surprisingly bright light blue colors trekked over in stripes for sheets. The floors were also the same marble colors of the floors outside, but a rug lied in the very center. Chairs were placed around, bringing life to the otherwise normal bedroom, and a picture lied on the wall. She knew that picture... that one picture was his. The one of Maria and Gerald, with the sepia tone. Drawers lied on the side, one with a mirror on the edge. Did Shadow look at himself in the mirror? He wasn't there now. In fact, where was Shadow? His door was open, but he wasn't here.

"What are you doing here?" his voice called from behind.

It was low, monotone, and yet still gave off terror. Hope locked up, turned her head back, and gazed deep into Shadow's fiery ruby eyes.

"Good morning Hope..." he murmured, despite himself.

She couldn't talk. She just, scanned. Maybe it was a rule in Rouge's home, for Shadow right now wore night pants. Other than that, he wore nothing else save his inhibitor rings. Even his air shoes and gloves that Hope figured was fused with Shadow's skin, was gone. Gone where though, probably in the drawers within his room. Maybe, he had a drawer filled with the articles of clothing.

"Hi... Shadow..." she whispered, swallowing fear.

He grunted, stepped past her, and entered his room.

"What are you doing awake?" he asked as his feet landed on his rugs.

"I was... just..." she said, finding it hard to finish her sentence.

Shadow must have noticed this, because the next thing he said was,

"Ah... don't sweat it..."

His gloveless hand traveled down to the edge of his bed, and lifted up a small book Hope hadn't noticed before. Now that she looked around longer, she noticed more books were lying around. Shadow loved to read... oh, just the thought of Shadow's literacy made him appear to be a genius in Hope's young mind. But the book in Shadow's hand was different from the other ones. This one was a journal.

"What's that?" Hope asked, as Shadow brought a pencil from the night desk beside his bed.

"This?" he said, lifting the journal, "Oh... its nothing..."

Bringing his finger to the gold lock on the books side, he snapped it open. It was a journal...

"You... have a diary?" Hope said, knees shaking.

"I suppose you could call it that." Shadow answered, sitting on his bed.

Opening a page, Shadow dragged the pencil along the papers. The noises of his pencil dancing along the paper was the only sound in the room that moment. That's when Shadow spoke.

"Maria had something like this on the Ark." he murmured, never taking his eyes off the paper.

"A... diary?" Hope questioned, to which he nodded.

"Yeah," he remarked, "when I was young... I would always ask what it was. When I tried reading it, she'd scold me, giggle, then say 'No Shadow, there are some things you can't read'. I thought it was a challenge. I tried, and tried, and tried to read that book... but to no avail. After one of my many failures. she relented, and told me why exactly I couldn't read it. She said it held all her secret feelings, and how she really felt about the days events." he took in a deep breath, "I thought it was stupid. A book can't hold people's feelings. But Maria said, there are just some things you'll never understand..." his facial features softened, "When I joined G.U.N. I bought myself this thing. I've been writing in it ever since..."

So... in this world lied a book that held Shadow's feelings. Shadow the hedgehog... her secret crush... had a diary. What was in it? Maybe... just maybe... he wrote things about her.

"Am I in it?" she asked, almost off of instinct.

Shadow's ruby eyes traveled over to her. For a moment, he said nothing, but then a smile grew on his lips.

"Don't you have somewhere to be right now?" he said.

Looking down, Hope looked at her gut. Yeah, she really needed to see that bathroom. So without another word, she disappeared through the doorway.

Now, her dainty tip toeing had been replaced with gleeful strides. Shadow had gotten so defensive when she asked about herself. That had to say something, right? Right? That was all Hope needed, for right now, of course.

Her frame came to the bathroom's doorway, and she sprung it open without knocking. On the other end, nothing but a pearly white toilet, a shower, and a sink. Was this the bathroom Shadow used? Rouge had her own queen sized bathroom in her room, so... maybe it was. As she flipped up the toilet's seat, she scanned it closely.

"Hey!" Rouge's voice called from the other end, "Since I have your clothe's being cleaned, I left you some new clothes on your bed."

Great... Hope in Rouge clothing... she just couldn't wait... _Sarcasm..._

Checking the toilet one more time, she prepared to do the deed. But... she felt like she was being watched. Her blue eyes fluttered elsewhere, and found the edge of the mirror beyond the sink. Gazing away, she felt the air grow heavier in her throat. Stepping forward, she began tip toeing over to the mirror. Her blue eyes scanned the blue eyes of herself, and she felt her life resume. With a gracious smile, she looked away. And then she looked back, just to make sure. Her mirror image looked... unhappy.

The reflected Hope gave herself an annoyed and uppity glare, before crossing her arms. That was odd, because Hope hadn't crossed her arms. Her heart just began racing. The image she saw, of herself, that is, began to shake her head in unhappiness. Hope wanted to speak, but she couldn't. But, somewhere along the way, she found the courage.

"What is going on?" she said, falling back.

The fake Hope gave a sadistic smirk, and then stretched forward its hand. Like liquid, the limb caused rippled waves to appear on the mirror. The hand that came out on the other end lacked color, among other things. It was clad in Hope's usual overalls, but the red undershirt was a dismal grey. The reflected Hope continued pulling itself out, before what came out on the other end, was the shadow Hope the mechanic saw yesterday. The green snake eyes that viewed Hope the other night had returned.

But, that was a nightmare, right? Then what the hell was this?

Shadow Hope stepped off of the sink before it, and came face to face, with its foe.

"Well, look at this," it said, its voice still the demonically charged male one from before, "trying to use the bathroom my dear girl?"

Well, not anymore...

"What's wrong?" Shadow Hope continued, "Still scared?"

Where was that voice coming from? The Shadow Hope lacked a mouth! So where!?

"What are you!?" Hope cried, growing fearful.

"Me? Who am I?" Shadow Hope said.

Its footsteps got closer, and closer.

"Hmm... all my life, I can remember being called two things... Solaris," the creäture looked at her, "and Mephiles..."

"Mephiles?... Mephisto... demon..."

"Good job, Hope," it said, "Mephiles, that's the name I remember being called. You're really smart..."

"What do you want?" she said, eyes trembling.

"Nothing... everything..." it said, _Mephiles_ said.

"Then... why are you bothering me?"

Mephiles looked skyward, and a sadistic laugh came out. Did anyone else hear this? The laugh grew and grew, and grew, until all Hope could hear was Mephiles' laugh coming out of her shadowed body.

"STOP!" she roared.

Blue eyes sprung open. To her surprise she was laying on the floor, shivering cold. The morning sun had passed, and now, time must have been around nine AM. How long had she been here, on the bathroom floor? Standing up, she took the time out to gaze at her image in the mirror. Her face was pained, and a red mark laid on her forehead. What happened? Did she fall out? Must have... but what about that... Mephiles, thing? That was the second time in two days she had seen it.

"Hope?" Omega's voice called out from the locked bathroom door, "Is everything alright in there?"

Opening her mouth, she found it to be oddly hoarse.

"Yeah, Omega." she answered.

"You might want to hurry, Rouge and Shadow are making what you call, breakfast..."

A few seconds later, his mechanical feet marched off and disappeared down the hall. But Hope couldn't move, not yet. Grabbing her head, she hook it over and over and over again. The marking would probably be gone by the time she got out the shower and to her allies. It didn't heal her mind though. What was Mephiles? What, was, Mephiles? Mephiles... Mephiles...

...

Finally, she returned to her room, as warm water dripped off her bathrobe clad body. Had anyone noticed she had spent a few hours unconscious on the floor? Maybe not, seeing as no one said anything about it. It was probably for the best. What was she going to say? Oh, I was attacked by the same shadow clone that attacked me in the bathroom last night? Yeah, the one I didn't tell you about! Hilarious! Even though weird things happen to Shadow, Rouge, and Omega, all the time, this was... different... Weird things were happening to her, not to her friends. For now, she would just have to swallow it, and head on. For now, at least.

Coming to the bed, her blue eyes scanned the clothing Rouge left out for her. Just as she thought, it was skimpy, skin-tight, and probably cleavage revealing. But, at least it wasn't a full body suit like Rouge's usual attire. Picking it up, she scanned the low-cut cleavage shirt, and skinny jeans Rouge gave her. Lips trembling, Hope wondered why her life was sucking right now. Dropping the robe to her feet, she traveled her hands over to the tight clothing. What pleasure did Rouge find in wearing these? She was sexy enough without them, but damn! This was overkill! Wait, where was Hope's bra? Where was the sports bra she wore during work? Yes, Hope wears a sports bra, did you think a fourteen year old girl like her would be as flat chested as she was?

In replacement of the bra she usually wore, was a smaller size that would hug her comfortably. Groaning, she slid the silky article of clothing on and around her. Next, the shirt, which, just as she predicted, showed a far amount of cleavage. Finally, the jeans, which were tighter than she originally believed. Well, to be honest, they weren't that tight. Toward the end, they opened up like bell bottoms, but they hugged her rump tightly. Great... this was so far removed from her usual looks. But, it followed her red and black color scheme. Save for the patches of hearts on the shirts shoulders. Gazing at herself in the mirror, she just wondered how different she looked from usual. Wearing this, she discovered she had a more curvaceous body than originally believed. Sure, it wasn't an hourglass like Rouge, but it was close. Just a little age, and a few workouts, she'll be there.

In two days, she had learned more about her friends and herself, than in her entire life. Ain't life grand?

"Hope!" Rouge's voice called, "Breakfast is ready."

Gazing down, she was happy to see her red boots were still there. Rouge wouldn't take those from her. With socks on, she slid her dainty feet in the shoes and stood tall. Huh... they matched with everything else.

"Coming Rouge!" she answered.

Sliding the door open, she walked down the hall with her head held high. Unlike before, the hall was now bright with the sun from outside beaming through windows. And yet, the shadows that remained... she could feel them... watching her. But no! She wouldn't be terrified now, nor would she show it! Fearless! Wow, Rouge's clothing must have been affecting her mind.

With the smell of eggs, toast, pancakes, and other things flying through the air, Hope picked up speed. Having a good morning breakfast was something she hadn't had in a while. G.U.N. meals were always terrible, much to her ire. So increasing speed even further, she followed the delicious smells. It floated through the halls like a trail of mist, and eventual brought her to the kitchen. Just like everything else in this place, it was shimmering, beautiful, and clean. But, no one was there. Dragging her blue eyes elsewhere, she found sliding glass doors that lead to an outdoor deck Rouge had. On said deck, a few white tables adorned in hearts and chairs. Sitting in said chairs, was Team Dark. Rouge was holding plates in her hand, Omega was sitting awkwardly (cause, ya'know, he can't eat), and Shadow had his ruby eyes deep inside the newspaper in his hands. Even a group of super soldiers who have been known to destroy entire robotic armies, had a simple and usual life. Hope smiled.

Shadow noticed her first, and then made a come hither motion with his fingers. Stepping out, she felt a rush of warm air come from the morning sun. As Rouge went on about something dealing with a red echidna, Hope got closer to the black hedgehog of her dreams. He smiled at her, patted her on the back, and then returned his gaze to the paper in his hands.

"Such a kid..." he whispered.

"Yeah," she answered, "I'm such a kid..."

As Hope began eating the food before her, Shadow's ruby eyes shot to her frame. Looking her up from top to bottom, he realized her change in clothing. Especially, the cleavage. Hope's eye looked to him. He was... noticing.

Shadow grumbled, shifted his attention away to the plate, and grabbed a fork.

"Rouge," he said, stopping her rant, "stop corrupting our friends."

At first, the bat hadn't the slightest clue what he was going on about. But one look at Hope, made her understand everything. A slight pur escaped the bat's mouth, and she nodded in spite of herself. With that finished, she continued her rant on annoying echidna's, and rocks to big for her to hold. Ah such a perfect morning.

And Shadow noticed Hope... she was so happy...


	4. Heart Attack Mode

Heart Attack Mode

The wind that resonated through the underground parking lot was so cold. Hope grabbed onto her shoulders, as the cool air brushed against her bare skin. With the sun brushing through the windows in the wall, she was able to take in Rouge's cars. They lined the room from wall to wall, almost like a domino set. They came in many shapes and sizes, yet every single one matched Rouge's perception of vanity. This made Hope think about getting a job in treasure hunting herself.

"Another day," Shadow murmured as his keys found the Dark Rider's slot, "another dollar..."

As the key slid in, his attention shifted to Hope. Her slight shivers made his ears twitch, and caused him to remove the furry jacket around his shoulders.

"Cold Hope?" he questioned as the jacket wrapped around her.

"Uh... kinda..." she said weakly, a gust of wind ruffling her hair.

Once again, Shadow had shown her an act of kindness by way of jacket around her shoulders. Does that mean their relationship was growing?

"Awww," Rouge's voice teased from behind, "they make such a cute couple, don't they Omega."

From those words, Hope blushed, while Shadow remained indifferent as always. Omega added no input to the conversation, as his robotic being came near one of Rouge's more powerful vehicles.

But, maybe they did. Hope thought about how she looked beside Shadow. She was a bit taller than him, but, he was much much older. And now, as she wore these clothes that made her feel sexier... well...

"Hope," Shadow said, "come on, we don't have all day..."

Just as he ordered, she sat on the back-end of the motorcycle, and wrapped her hands around his waist. But her face grew fearful, as she realized she left the helmet inside the club. But, with a sly wink, Shadow assured her of her safety. Shadow... winked... at her...

Getting closer, she slowly laid her head upon his soft back quills. Strangely, this caused Shadow to make a gesture. Brushing back his quills, he murmured,

"No need to rush..."

Hope loved the small little quirks Shadow had. Her blue eyes dragged across the long parking lot, and quickly locked themselves onto Rouge's teal orbs. They... didn't look to happy. Rouge was giving her a questioning, almost analyzing glare. What was that about?

Seconds later, the Dark Rider under their legs roared to life. With a few twists of the gas, Shadow slowly began moving toward the shutters. As he approached the metallic doors, they slid open, and he quickly peeled out in the back alley. Quickly taking to the streets, Shadow zipped by many cars that lied side by side. Since it was the morning, Night Babylon's roads were extremely vacant, save for the occasional car or two. Because of this, Shadow was allowed to drive as fast as he pleased. His quills rushed through the air, and a soft sigh escaped his lips. Every hair on his body stuck on end, and this caused a small prickling sensation to move through Hope's hands. Huh... Shadow may have been able to run at the speeds of sound, but he loved driving his bike.

Hope enjoyed it too. Without the helmet, her hair was free to wave in the air. It was so exhilarating, and yet, Hope wanted more.

Pressing on Shadow's waist, she caught his attention. Though his gaze never left the open roads, his ears perked, showing she now had his mind.

"Shadow..." she whispered, "Can you go a little faster?"

What kind of game was she playing? He was going fast as is, was she trying to get them a ticket? But of course, he happily oblidged. Through the reflection in his side mirrors, she saw a smirk grow on his lips.

"Why yes," he answered, "I can..."

With a few more presses of the gas, he caused the Dark Rider to roar through the air. Its speed picked up, and soon, everything became a virtual blur. The vehicle screamed onto the highway, and with things so vacant and empty, he was free to drive as fast as he pleased.

Hope gazed back, and noticed she could no longer see the vehicle Omega and Rouge were in. She didn't care though. Oh, to be alone with Shadow. How far could she go?

Her head peering around, she noticed a few turns coming up over the side. She wondered...

"Hey... Shadow..." she whispered, "I've seen you drive a bit before... can you drift for me?"

Yes, every now and then, Shadow, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy would take part in some racing tournament. Every time, Shadow would come in with these high-powered vehicles. What, did you think he got those vehicles from his devilish good looks alone? Hope made them... though, if he batted an eyelash at her every now and then, she'd probably make them for free...

With a nod of his head, he caused the Dark Rider to slowly increase in speed. As the corner came, he bucked the vehicle to the side, and leaned into a drift that maintained his velocity. As the turn ended, he zipped out, and continued to drive in an upright position. A rampart line of giggles escaped Hope's lips, and her hand tightened on Shadow's waist.

"Faster," she cried, "Faster!"

Why was Shadow obliging so much? This wasn't the same, quiet, indifferent, and stoic, hedgehog she worked with for so long. So... what was different from then and now?

As her head drifted over the side, and Shadow's speed increased, Hope took the time to view her surroundings. Once the city of Night Babylon disappeared, a fleet of vehicles approached. Tapping Shadow's head, she whispered to him,

"How's your dodging skills?"

His head shook, but not in a no manner, but more in a 'You'll see' manner. Once again twisting on the gas, he sped up toward the rapidly invading cars. With great finesse, he dodged the cars, with them being so close, the young mechanic could touch them if she tried. But of course, she wouldn't let go of Shadow, not now, not ever.

Everything felt so perfect! Holding onto Shadow, speeding through traffic at speeds she couldn't clarify, the sun beaming so high in the sky, with no shades holding anything! If Hope were given the option to have this feeling, 'til the ends of the earth, she would. She didn't care if Shadow would keep her here forever, it would be such a perfect existence.

So strange. Just yesterday, she was scared mindless by Shadow's driving. Now, she was riding at speeds even greater than earlier, and she was loving it! Maybe that night at Club Rouge changed her. Or maybe, as she hypothesized, Rouge's clothing was affecting her mind.

Speeding through a corner, Shadow started drifting pass multiple cars, no matter how dangerous his actions may have been. As the cars became more sparse as time went on, Shadow's driving went faster and faster. Everything was so perfect just so... perfect! Hope could feel herself melt away! Her grip grew on Shadow, and she leaned her head down on his. Was she... crying? No, that was the wind hitting her face, of course.

Boy, she never wanted this feeling to end... never... but as the backdrop changed from open highway roads, to city streets, she groaned. She could see the mountain rapidly approach, and she just wanted it to go away. Shadow's driving slowed down, and he came upon the mountain roads with great caution. As they drove up the side, the roads got bumpier and bumpier, as well as the sides grew luscious with green grass and trees. The sun could barely poke through the trees' canopies, and this ment shade thrived in the mountain's forest. Strange, as she passed them... she felt them... bend... But no... not that Mephiles thing again. She was just... thinking to hard on it, that's all.

When they finally broke free of the forest, she felt a weight lift off of her shoulders. Shadow's speed decreased, and she eventually saw the G.U.N. base she called home approach her. A groan of indifference filed out her mouth, while a cocky laugh exited Shadow's.

"What's wrong, Hope?" he teased, "A bit premature for you?"

Hope pouted her lip a bit, before her face turned cherry red. Had he... had he just made a sexual pun about her? As he realized his joke hit home, Shadow let out an uproarious laugh, one that caused Hope to feel little.

"I can't believe you!" she yelled back after a while, causing him to laugh so more.

Still... maybe the experience was a bit... premature... heh, heh, heh...

...

Shadow's fingers found his locker while his indifferent scowl scanned the turntables.

06-21-00...

The locker door flew open, and he was allowed a view at the contents inside. As expected of him, it was very empty, save for a few jackets he owned, and a photo that lied taped to the wall. No, this wasn't the same sepia tone photo of Maria and Gerald. No, this was a photo of Team Dark, taken shortly after they gained a certain new recruit. In the photo, between Rouge and him, was Hope. Omega stood behind them all, his overbearing stature casting a shade over his allies, while a sea of carnage lied behind. Yeah, he remembered that. The attack on Dr. Robotnik's base, Egg City. Yeah... it was more a graveyard after they got through with it.

For some reason, of the very few pictures Shadow owned, he enjoyed this one the most. Whenever he'd go on an adventure or mission, he'd marvel at the photo, specifically the blonde girl in between. And yet, he never questioned himself as to why.

Reaching into the locker, he placed his keys on the top row. Another day... another dollar...

Abruptly, the locker door slammed, causing a loud echo to resonate. Shadow would have been surprised, had he not already known who caused it.

"Rouge," he said, glancing over to her teal eyes, "this is the boy's locker room... what are you doing here?"

With an unhappy gaze, she looked at him, her arms hugging close her heart-shaped chest. For a few seconds they remained in silence, as neither side wanted to speak. Finally, Rouge relented, and spoke forward.

"What was that all about?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Crossing his arms as he usually did, Shadow answered with,

"What are you talking about?"

Rouge's eyes slanted further, showing she wasn't in the mood for games. Good, cause Shadow doesn't play games.

"That," she stated, with greater emphasis, "I want to know why you acted all Outrun with Hope?"

Breaking his arms from their connection, Shadow laid them on his hips.

"Outrun? You mean that old Sega game?" he questioned with a smirk, "What does that have to do with anything?"

But Rouge wasn't going to have any of his playful jokes. Her scowl growing, she shook her head. A sudden buz appeared between the two, and a light came from both Shadow and Rouge's gloves. Rouge pressed a near invisible button on her glove first, and answered the call.

"G.U.N. Agent Rouge hear, where's the fire?"

"Agent Rouge," the operator on the other side called, "You and Team Dark are to mobilize at the debriefing room."

"10-4." she answered.

Seconds later, the beeping died out, and Rouge sighed. Looking back at Shadow, she jabbed forth a finger and said,

"This isn't over Shadow..."

"Whatever you say..." he replied with a snicker.

Side by side, they shuffled out the room and down the halls. Not to long later, they were joined by Omega, who followed them up to the debriefing room. It was funny, Shadow felt, here they were, walking down the halls that a year ago he nearly destroyed during the whole Black Arms invasion. Chilling on the walls were many other agents, humans, mobians, or otherwise. Some flirted with Rouge, which she of course flirted back, while others marveled at Omega's huge stature, some even called out 'Yo' to Shadow. Yeah, life and stuff...

Finally coming to the debriefing room door, the trio of agents stepped in. To their surprise, they were also joined by another group of many armed soldiers. Great... this mission wasn't going to be easy, was it? The many soldiers lined up against the walls, held their guns in a vertical position, and grew deathly silent. Shadow merely sighed.

"This had better be good..." he remarked, taking a seat at the debriefing room's desk.

As Rouge sat beside him, Omega stood behind, his demeanor as over powering as ever.

The door on the other end opened up, and stepping out, his hair grey, eyes blue and brown, manilla folder in hand, was the G.U.N. Commander himself. Letting out a low cough, he sat on the other end of Team Dark. Remaining silent, a groan left his lips, and a female attendant garbed in a grew suit walked up. Holding a cup of coffee, she handed it to her commander, saluted, and then left as fast as she had come. The Commander took a sip of his coffee, gazed at Team Dark out his eye, shifted his attention to the folder he brought, and opened it.

"Good morning Team Dark." he said, tightening his grew gloves.

"Good morning, Commander." the trio said in relative unison.

He nodded, showing he got there call, and once again returned his glare to the folder before him.

"Let me cut to the chase Team," he said, "at five AM Tuesday, of last week, Dr. Ivo Robotnik's 'Egg Carrier' was spotted flying near the kingdom of Soleanna. We don't have any clue as to why, but we believe it deals with a certain Chaos Emerald signature resonating from the area."

Nonchalantly, he lifted a picture, and slid it across the table. Rouge grabbed it first, and analyzed it. It was the Egg Carrier alright, the bat would always remember it...

"Not only that," the Commander continued, "but our agents have noticed an increase in Robotnik's Gunbots and Eggpawns in the surrounding area."

Another photo slid across, this time it was caught by Shadow. The photo was an aerial view, and showed a faint team of Dr. Robotnik's robots mobilized in groups. They were, oddly enough, stationed at Soleanna's abandoned castles. Strange... he felt like he remembered that place...

"We believe," Commander added, "that this deals with a hidden base located under Soleanna's waters."

"Hidden base?" Shadow questioned, gazing up.

With a nod, Commander confirmed his belief's.

"About ten years ago," Commander continued, "there was reports that Soleanna was having deals in illegal science experiments. You see, Soleanna has a god known as Solaris. This god represented time and space, and had the ability to control them to his will. The King of Soleanna, tried his hardest to harness the power of this god... but something went wrong, and an explosion rang out, killing him, and injuring many others."

"I remember that," Rouge said, "I was a little girl when that happened..."

Once again, the Commander nodded.

"But of course," he said, "this was merely speculation, as no underwater base could be found."

"So... you believe the Dr. is trying to find this base?"

"The Chaos signature from the area only confirm our beliefs," Commander stated, "we don't believe Dr. Robotnik could get his hands on this... Solaris, but as long as there's a Chaos Emerald in the location, we should treat this operation with the utmost of caution."

"What is our mission?" Shadow asked, almost as a formation.

"Attack the Egg Carrier, and keep whatever Chaos Emerald Dr. Robonik is after, out of his hands."

Simple.

"And bring these soldiers with you," he added, "they could use the combat training..."

Not so simple. Shadow hated these kind of missions! In fact, so did Rouge and Omega. Taking care of a group could be easy, and hard, it always depended on the mission. Most of the time, it was hard, because they were left with a group of untrained idiots who questioned their every order. But this was different. Dr. Robotnik missions were always easy. There was no way this group of soldiers could mess this up.

"Fine..." Shadow murmured, his body slouching back.

"You'll be taking Harrier Jet 4-52B" Commander said. Standing up from a chair, he handed the entire folder to Rouge, "Good luck team..."

In unison, everyone in the entire room saluted their Commander.

...

She shivered at the name. Just that title alone, it sent chills down her spine.

Solaris? Did she really hear that?

Here Hope stood, outside the debriefing room door, as she cradled her arms. No, it had to be some joke. Solaris... that, Mephiles guy... he called himself Mephiles _and _Solaris... No, this was getting to real, to... to... real...

Footsteps were coming, and she quickly ran away. Why was she running so fast? She had no reason to. Her many huffs and puffs exited her mouth, as she passed by many people. Some said hello, but she was in no mood to talk. Harrier Jet 4-52B... She needed to get on that jet. She needed to stop her Uncle and whatever plan he was concocting. If he had released that... Mephiles thing upon her... then there was no telling what he would do... she needed to understand.

The G.U.N. base had a hangar not to far up. A quick jaunt up the staircase was all it took for the young mechanic to find it. Reading the many serial numbers of the harrier jets she found the one she was looking forward.

There it was, Harrier Jet 4-52B. Big, black, cold, it was a crowning achievement in G.U.N. architecture. Powered by fusion energy, it can fly faster than almost anything, while at the same time holding a high number of agents inside. Only used for attacking mission, it was the perfect blend of speed, defense, and raw strength.

And using the end of a wrench, she was going to break into it. Hey, perfect blends have design flaws too.

Withdrawing her trusted tool, she wedged it in the small area where the door met the steel wall of the ship. Using her mighty teenage girl strength, she was able to pry open just a small gap. It was with a grin she began to favor her small petite body. Sliding in her arm first, she was able to slip inside the gap with minimal effort. Landing on the other side with a loud thud, she quickly took in the dark insides. It was so cold and dark, she couldn't even see her hands. The only light came in from the small opening she created with her wrench. Grabbing a hold of the tool, she took the time to gaze out. Her eyes met Shadow, Rouge, and Omega's frame, as the trio led their squadron of soldiers toward the Harrier Jet. Taking in a deep breath, she slipped her wrench out of the gap. Snapping on a flashlight she always kept near her wrench, she began searching for a hiding spot. The footsteps were getting closer, so she needed to move fast. Glancing around the room, she found an air vent she would fit perfectly in. So, with an unbolt here and there, she slipped into the vent, and fastened herself in. The door opened.

Shadow stepped in first. His ruby eyes traveled up and down the length of the Jet, before he nodded. Rouge was next, then Omega, and finally a twenty or so squad of men. As they spoke to one another, telling jokes and socializing, Shadow and Rouge took head spot at the Harrier Jet's command center. With everyone preoccupied, Hope crawled up the air vents and eventually came to the same area as the pilots. Scanning their faces, she found it odd that Shadow was composed, while Rouge looked... unhappy.

The bat's arms were crossed in displeasure, while she took looks at Shadow every now and then. Why was that?

"Seriously, Shadow," she said getting his attention, "what is going on between you and Hope?"

The mechanic gasped. Why was she asking him this? Did she... notice something?

"Everyone prepared for lift off?" Shadow asked, facing his soldiers.

With a salute, they confirmed this. So, nodding, Shadow shifted his attention to the Harrier Jet's controls, and set the beast alive. The blue jet engines on the black behemoth roared to life, and caused the Harrier Jet to hover above the ground. Away from them the shutter doors open, revealing the blue skies that lied a head. Pushing the stick shift up, the great machine began moving forward. It flew over and passed many other stationed jets, before exiting the shutter doors. A moment later, the Harrier Jet dashed forward, as Shadow put force on the stick shift.

Soleanna lied just over the horizon. They'd be there in no time at all.

* * *

_Trivia Time!_

_Normally, I don't do trivia, I save all that stuff for the end of my stories. But I just enjoyed writing this chapter so much, I couldn't help myself._

_So, first things first, this chapter's title comes from that mode in Outrun 2 called Heart Attack Mode. Its a mode where that girl you drive with tells you to do something just so you can fill up that heart meter. That's why Rouge made that one reference to Outrun up there._

_Also, this story is suppose to take in the game universe, except with liberties taken. The whole Soleanna disaster still happened even though Elise and Sonic whiped Solaris from existance. Why, you may ask? Well I felt the god still existed, he just didn't exist in body, that's what the flame represented. The king still tried to get Solaris' power, but since he didn't have the flame, he just destroyed the entire base, killing himself, and some other people. _

_Now, to all those reading this, thanks, and I hope things aren't dragging on for to long. In the next chapter, the plot will pick up._

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	5. Haunt of the Egg Carrier

Haunt of the Egg Carrier

No! How could this happen!?

Dragging his fingers along his mustache, he let out a low groan. How!? Why!? Everything was going so perfectly! So perfectly indeed! Then how!?

The machine before him was unfinished, and probably wouldn't be completed in a while... he needed help.

Slouching back in his chair, he let out an unhappy moan, one that showed just how miserable he felt. For now, anyway. Spinning around in his chair, he faced the mechanical blue demon he created oh so long ago.

"Metal Sonic," he called, rage in his voice, "It seems we've hit a little snag..."

Metal Sonic nodded, while his red eyes gleamed on and off. He couldn't speak, so metallic noises exited his nonexistent mouth instead.

"Yes... If I'm going to finished this... I'll need help..."

But from who? What genius equaled the great Dr. Robotnik in IQ and intelligence? And no, that annoying yellow fox wasn't an option!

"Dr..." a low, indifferent and stoic voice called.

The low pitter patter of footsteps appeared from a dark corridor. The first thing anyone saw of him, was his golden stripes. Stepping in the Dr.'s eyesight, it had a demeanor equaled to that of a certain black and red hedgehog.

"Ah, Android Shadow!" Dr. Robotnik said with a grin, "What information do you bring from my troops?"

The black and gold clone crossed his arms, and gave his creator a sharp glare. With a shake of his head he said,

"They haven't found anything as of yet..."

The evil Dr. slammed down his fist in rage, before growing indifferent himself. What next?

"But Dr.," his android continued, "we have more pressing matters..."

"And? What are they?" he questioned.

"It seems we've been spotted, Dr..."

Reaching away, the android brought forth a small mechanical sphere. With a click of the button, a holographic image appeared. Dr. Robotnik readjusted his glasses, and took a close look at the 3-D figure. Wait... he recognized one of those. Black, sleek, and destructive, it was one of G.U.N.'s Harrier Jets! What was one of those doing near here!?

"They're heading this way..." Android Shadow said, stating the obvious.

"I already know..." Robotnik murmured.

From Metal Sonic's invisible lips, a series of monotone clicks and beeps appeared. Groaning, the evil genius nodded in agreement. Fine... for now, this little project of his would have to be finished some other time. More pressing manners were heading his way.

"Well, what are you waiting for!" he suddenly yelled at his robots, "Prepare for battle!"

...

The plane ride to the Egg Carrier was taking longer than Shadow would have liked.

As the many soldiers they were told to take with them were shooting the breeze in the back, he was being hammered with many questions coming from Rouge. He dodged most, answered some with questions, but the fact remained. He couldn't hide forever.

"Shadow," she said, with a rage filled voice, "what is going on between you and Hope?"

With another groan, he ignored her comment, his ruby eyes trained on the skies ahead. Little did they know, the blonde girl they spoke of was currently hiding in the air vents, eavesdropping on their conversation. Her face was filled with embarrassment and fear, as if Rouge was prying open a relationship she kept hidden with Shadow. But, as far as she knew, the relationship was completely one-sided, with the black and red hedgehog being completely oblivious to her feelings. But he had to have known something, they've been working together for such a long time now.

She knew why she was so scared. She was afraid Shadow would say something that would nail a hole in any chance she had with him. But he dodged all of Rouge's questions so far, so that had to mean something, right?... Right?

"Rouge, you're acting crazy," Shadow suddenly said, his eyes floating toward a dial, "Hope is a human, I am a hedgehog."

"That doesn't mean anything," Rouge snapped back, her arms crossing, "I see the way you act around her. You get all friendly, and you brush back your quills!"

"I brush back my quills with you," Shadow said, looking at her, "tell me Rouge, does that mean I like you as well?"

Blushing, the bat realized she had been caught in a loop-hole. Still, she remained adamant in her position.

"Ok fine... you might have me there... but tell me, why did you bring her back to the club with you the other night?"

Hope's eyes shot to him. Why had he done so?

"She asked..." he answered easily enough.

"Oh, so by that commission, if someone like, oh I don't know, Cream or Amy asked, you'd drive them back too?"

"No..." he answered.

"Why not? They asked, just like Hope did."

"Hope's a friend," he answered, bluntly enough, "she's treated... differently..."

"Oh, so if Amy was your friend, would you bring her then?"

"No..."

"Why not?"

"Because she's 13... that club is much to adult for her."

"And not Hope? She's only a year older than that pink hedgehog."

Now he was caught in a loop-hole. Turning away, he let out an annoyed groan. Shadow's demeanor shifted so suddenly.

"Uh-huh," Rouge said, "she does mean something to you."

"Stop that," Shadow snapped back, looking at her, "Hope is just an ally, a friend! Nothing more, nothing less!"

Returning his glare toward the Harrier Jet's windshield, he took in a deep breath. His ruby eyes traveled up and down the jet's control center, before finding their way to Rouge's eyes. She was giving him a look that said, 'I win.' Shadow hated that look.

Glaring out the windshield, he found the abandoned Soleanna castles. Finally, they were here. Pressing a series of buttons on the Harrier Jet's command center, he caused a radar to slide out from the console between he and Rouge. A beeping sonar noise echoed through the ship, before Shadow noticed a green dot appear. Tapping the machine he announced,

"Get ready everyone, the Egg Carrier has been spotted."

Shadow caused the Harrier Jet to tip down below the clouds, and to the abandoned seas of castles and temples. Flying over the water, his eyes locked sight of a red mechanical side. As they flew forward a few more miles, they saw the Egg Carrier in its entirety. It had parked itself so perfectly in the seas of castles, almost like a pig in a blanket.

Turning on the steering wheel, Shadow dashed forward toward the red behemoth. Suddenly, Omega appeared, his metallic claw collapsing on both Shadow and Rouge's chair.

"An attack is imminent!" he roared.

Slots slid open on the Egg Carrier's side, and high-powered laser cannons filled out. Aiming toward the G.U.N. Harrier Jet, they fired. Red lasers danced along the castle graveyard, and destroyed anything that came along its path. Temples disintegrated, while the waters they lied in evaporated. Shadow, using his impeccable driving skills, was able to dodge almost every laser that came his way. But he couldn't keep this up forever.

Looking over to Rouge, he quickly stood up.

"Take the controls," he yelled at her, "I've gotta do something about those lasers!"

Giving her no time to argue, he dashed over to the Harrier Jet's exit hatch. Pressing a few buttons on the size, he ignored his soldier's pleas, and sprung the door open. Wind poured through the ship, as the screaming noise of parting air roared in his ears. Ignoring it and everything, he leaped out of the flying vehicle, and down to the many castle's below.

Like a yellow dot he fell, his body spinning in a powerful ball. Landing onto a shattered castle rampart, he maintained moment in a spin dash, and traveled up its broken length. Rolling out of his ball, he started to skate his way toward the flying Egg Carrier. Robotnik must have noticed him, because some lasers found their way to his position. Seeing this as a challenge, Shadow dashed forward. His yellow streak of a body dodged laser after laser as he shortened the distance between himself and the Egg Carrier. Above him, he saw the Harrier Jet, which was slowly but surely making its way over. Gazing forward, he noticed a series of castles that formed a kind of jagged staircase. This staircase made a perfect pathway toward the Egg Carrier's hull. Grinning, Shadow dashed forward.

Coming up to the first, slanted castle, he traveled up its side. At the edge, he leaped over to the other, and up to the other. On the fourth and final castle, Shadow put all his strength on his legs. Using his Air Shoes, he rocketed forward at speeds no one could noticed with one mighty leap. His body covered in a red aura, Shadow felt an increase in massive strength.

"Chaos Blast!" he roared.

Thrusting forward his hands, he fired out a beam of pure Chaos Energy. The red blast traveled skyward, and slammed into the Egg Carrier's hull. A loud explosion roared through the air and shook the very earth. When the dust settled, a nice hole was made in the Egg Carrier's side. It wasn't big, but it would do.

Pushing up on the stick shift, Rouge caused the Harrier Jet to dash forward. It traveled flawlessly through the air, dodged any other laser shot toward them, and lodged itself into the hole Shadow made. The Harrier Jet crashed inside, and destroyed any Eggman robot unfortunate enough to be in its way. Those who did survive immediately turned their guns on the black vehicle's position. Bullet's tearing through the air, they struck the Harrier Jet's hull, doing nothing. Suddenly the jet's door opened, and leaping out was Omega. Gatling guns at the ready, Omega showered his opponents with a storm of gunfire. His bullet's tore through many of them, and easily severed limb from robotic limb. And Omega cared not. Scanning the area quickly, his head turned around and he said,

"Area cleared!"

A moment later, Rouge flew out, teal eyes scanning the room as well.

"Shadow," she called out, "are you there?"

A few muffled coughs appeared, before the black and red hedgehog in question stepped out from the smoke in the room. Nodding, he said,

"Yeah I'm here..." ruby eyes shifting around, he then added, "Let's hurry up..."

It didn't take long for the G.U.N. soldiers inside to exit the Harrier Jet. Once they did, they saluted to their higher-ups, and awaited further orders. Their first mission was simple, and it came from Omega. Destroy everything. With the destructive robot leading the group, he took head point down a hall. Shadow and Rouge, on the other hand, were going to sneak up to the Egg Carrier's command center while their comrades created chaos. They were gone just as fast as they arrived.

Shadow and Rouge ran through the Egg Carrier's many halls at high speeds. The occasional Egg Pawn they passed was dispatched easily, while their eyes remained on the prize. Well, Shadow's was, Rouge on the other hand was so uninterested with their mission, she tried to pry into Shadow's feelings.

"But Shadow, what is going on between you and Hope?" she asked, kicking a gunbot down.

"Really, here!?" he barked back, spin dashing through a series of Heavy Dog-esque Egg bots.

"Yes, here!" she yelled back, as she threw a series of bombs at foes, "If not now, you'll just scoff and blow it off later!"

"You're crazy Rouge!" he yelled, his body creating a wave of distortion around him which blew foes away.

Suddenly, the doors started to close shut on them, prompting Shadow to move. Grabbing a hold of Rouge's hand, he dashed past the closing doors and headed down the hall. Since this wasn't the first time (and probably not the last) Rouge was completely calm. So calm, she continued to heckle her ally.

"Shadow, I can see the looks you give her." she said.

"Rouge, you are really beginning to annoy me!" he yelled.

"Oh yeah, yeah, what are you going to do, drop me?"

"I'm thinking about it!"

"I'm just saying," she stated, "Hope is head over heals for you! Don't play with her heart like that!"

"What are you talking about?"

"What, don't you notice it?"

As he skated at high speeds, he looked at her. The face he gave her was filled with confusion.

"Don't I notice what?" he questioned.

No, he didn't know. For the Ultimate Life form, he was still oblivious to so many things. Rouge took a deep breath, and looked elsewhere.

"Shadow," she said, "Hope likes you."

"Of course she likes me," he said simply, "she's my ally."

"No, not like that," she said, gazing back, "the same way in that... how do I put this? The same way in that Amy likes Sonic..."

"There is no way in hell Hope likes me that much."

"Well- Shadow! Watch out!"

His ruby eyes shooting forward, he noticed an axe wielding robot approach him. It was big, lacked legs, and floated around on jet engines from its back. Slashing forward, the brown and black robot struck at his foes, but to no avail Shadow easily dodged the strike, and brought him and Rouge to safety.

"We'll talk about this later Rouge." the hedgehog said, eyeing his foe.

And for once, she agreed.

"Yes we will..." she stated with great emphasis.

As gun totting Egg Pawns appeared from down the hall, the duo dashed off. Their speeds were so fast, they disposed of the robots with little time. The only thing most of them saw before total deactivation was yellow lights and violet waves.

...

"Oooohhh..." Hope mumbled, her head throbbing, "Ugh... What a landing..."

Pulling the wrench from her waist, she slowly unscrewed a few bolts holding the vent bars in place. What had happened? She just remembered listening to Shadow and Rouge's talk and then... the driving got so erratic! Things dashed left and right, and she was bashed against the vent walls. And when the ship crash, dear lord! Hope was sure she lost a few minutes from it.

Crawling out of the vent, she took the time to scan her environment. The Harrier Jet's insides were rattled, but completely Ok. But she still heard the noise of flying sparks and crackling fire. Getting to her feet, she took the time to readjust her cleavage. How many times does Rouge have to do this in a day?

Glaring away, she saw the exit hatch of the Harrier Jet was wide open. Taking in a deep, she slowly trekked over to the doorway. Her blue eyes peered out, and she took in the sights. All around the Harrier Jet, was the many destroyed and collapsed bodies of Egg Pawns and Gunbots. Hope felt her heart sink. No one else may have cared, but she did. The little girl loved robots. But, these weren't her friends, these were her enemies. And more may have been around.

Before she exited the Harrier Jet, she dragged her eyes to the side. Lined up side by side, were many guns and firearms. Hope grimaced. In G.U.N. it was mandatory for all agents to have former training in weaponry, no exceptions. As much as Hope loved the design of guns, and even creating them, she abhorred actually using them. She wasn't a soldier, after all, she was a mechanic, an at home person. But there was no time to argue. With her enemies outside, she had to arm herself. So, gazing toward the firearms lower levels, her eyes graced the silver lining of a pistol. Beside it, a gun belt that would fit her perfectly. It was as if fate had arranged things to end up like this.

Sliding the gun belt around her waist, she also took the time to place her wrench and flashlight in the empty slots. Last to slide in, was the pistol she would need to use. Her hands pressed the side of it, sending a cold chill up her fingers. She pulled back immediately, before breathing in deeply. Moving slowly, she once again touched the silver pistol's body. This time, instead of pulling away, she grabbed its handle. Lifting it up, she marveled at how heavy it felt, despite its small size. As she gazed at it, she could immediately tell its model and year. Did that matter though? She needed to get going. Sliding the pistol into the gun belt on her waist, she took a few ammo casings, just to be on the safe side. Weapon training taught her to never be without a spare.

Her blonde hair bobbed out the exit hatch one more time, and her eyes analyzed the area. As she stepped out of the doorway, she withdrew her pistol. Holding it down, she started moving gingerly through the Egg Carrier's corridors. Even though she was far away, she could hear the destructive explosions coming from her allies battles. She needed to hurry. If she was going to talk to her Uncle, she was going to have to make it to him before everyone else did. Easier said than done, of course.

Stepping forward, the only light she had in the room came from flames and the barely functioning lights. But with every step, she heard metal clank against metal. The noises always locked her up. Where were they coming from?

A pair of heavy metallic footsteps echoed behind the adolescent girl, causing her to spin around. To her surprise, she saw an Egg Pawn. The round orange machine had the same maniacal face of her Uncle, but it looked strangely sad. It was missing an arm and one of its eyes were shattered. Also, all along its body, were many dints and scrapes. This thing looked so defeated, would it really try attacking her? No.

The Egg Pawn nudged past the mechanic, and came to a fellow Egg Pawn on the ground. Helping its downed brother to its feet, it started to search for an arm. The Egg Pawn it was helping was missing both arms, and it too had dents along its body. As its one-armed brother found a free hand, it came back and tried to reattach its limb. Hope watched this display of brotherly affection with wide eyes. In fact, all around her, many down Egg Pawns and Gunbots were helping one another out. Hope felt her heart pull. She needed to help them. Because, ya'know, she loved robots.

Taking her wrench, she helped reattach the limb to the Egg Pawn directly in front of her. Though she lacked many of her at home tools, she still was able to fix the robot, albeit, with little accuracy. The Egg Pawn seemed grateful though, as it suddenly began shaking Hope's hand. Her face brightened up with a smile. She felt so good helping others. Turning around, she noticed that many other Egg Pawns and Gunbots had seen her charitable display. Gazing along one other, they started running toward her, for all of them were injured, and all wanted to be fix. Hope wanted to help, but she needed to see her Uncle... but she just couldn't leave them. She knew much about her Uncle, and how he had the habit of unintentionally giving his robot's souls. All of these machines may have been mindless robots to everyone else, but to her... they were alive. With a tear, she knelt down to her knees, and started to fix each and every robot that came her way.

...

The wind blew through his face, as rockets soared over head. Here he and his ally stood, on top of the Egg Carrier itself Egg Jets soaring above. Shadow glared up, ruby eyes filled with anger, and threw forward a yellow bolt of electrical energy. His Chaos Spear met its target, and set it ablaze with fire. Looking ahead, he peered over the Egg Carrier's long structure, and to the command center ahead. Their were cannons everywhere, and all of them were locked onto Shadow's position. He flashed red, prepared to deal with them, but Rouge's intervention with her bombs destroyed each and every one of them. With a nod and a thanks, Shadow dashed off, his hand intertwined with her's. At such high speeds, he dodged bullets and rockets with little trouble. Just a little farther, and they'd be at the Dr. command. And then, this would all be over.

As he made his way over the Egg Carrier's top side, he felt a slipstream accompany him. His eyebrow raised. Who was fast enough to match him? Sonic was nowhere near here so...

A second later, his cheek met a powerful, cold, fist.

Shadow loss balance, and rolled over and over and over again, unintentionally causing Rouge to do the same.

"Shadow," Rouge said, wincing in pain, "what was that!?"

"Don't ask me!" he roared.

Getting to his feet, he began searching for his assailant. A blue blur dashed left and right, seemingly confirming Shadow's beliefs that it was Sonic. But, why would he attack him?

"Show yourself!" Shadow barked, a red aura surrounding his body.

A moment later, the blue blur stopped, and faced Shadow man to man... er, hedgehog, to robotic, hedgehog.

Metal Sonic glared at Shadow, with ember eyes burning. So, it wasn't Sonic. Good, Shadow didn't feel like killing him today.

"Metal Sonic," Shadow said, "I don't want to have to fight you!"

The mechanical hedgehog shook his head. A few mechanical clicks and beeps exited his silver muzzle, and suddenly, the robot dashed forward. Jet engines burning, he tackled Shadow with a powerful close hanger. Blasting forward with his victim in tow, Metal Sonic slammed into a gun torrent, causing a sizeable dent. But Shadow wouldn't be defeated. With the red aura around his body, he put forth great strength, and tossed the fake hedgehog off of him. Metal Sonic landed a few yards away, before quickly returning to his feet. Suddenly, his ember eyes changed to a yellow color.

"Scanning, scanning, scanning..." he said, "Scanning complete, Chaos Boost analyzed and copied."

Words finished, Metal Sonic took a battle pose. A second later, his body erupted into a red aura, much like Shadow's. The hedgehog stepped back, as apprehensiveness began to take over. This battle just got harder.

"Rouge," Shadow said, "find the Dr., I'll deal with Metal Sonic!"

As she got to her feet, she nodded. Wings flapping, she took off down the Egg Carrier's hull. With his ally gone, Shadow felt free to rush his opponent. In a red and yellow streak, he dashed forward, all to deliver a swift kick to Metal Sonic's chest. The blow knocked him back, but not as far as Shadow would have liked it. The robot recoiled quickly, and countered with laser beam from his chest. Shadow dodged the attack quickly, causing the laser to fly behind him. It collided with cannon, and set in ablaze with an explosion. Finding this the opportune time to attack, Shadow disappeared. Reappearing behind Metal Sonic, he struck with kick. The robot, already knowing this was coming, disappeared as well. Just like Shadow, he reappeared behind his foe, and struck with a punch. Shadow, already knowing this trick since it was his, disappeared, reappeared behind Metal Sonic, and struck with a punch of his own. Their game of disappear reappear went on for quite some time, before it was ended by a stray rocket from one of Robotnik's jets.

The explosion separated them for the time being, and gave Shadow the time to catch his breath.

"Your not to bad, Metal Sonic," he said, "but this ends now!"

Focusing, he entered the third and strongest stage of his Chaos Boost mode. The aura on his body waving wildly, he pulled in his hands, and prepared for his strongest attack.

"CHAOS BLAST!" he roared, sending a red wave of pure energy out.

Since he had no time to scan it, Metal Sonic was left with little time to counter the strike. The bubble of energy slammed against his cold skin, and sent him flying far, far away. By the time Shadow was finished, only a few pieces of Metal Sonic's body remained. But it wasn't over yet. Shadow knew this.

Almost immediately, Metal Sonic reappeared, via Chaos Control. His ember eyes locked onto Shadow's position, he dashed forward with a Sonic Boom. Shadow took a defensive position as he prepared for the attack, but before Metal Sonic could strike him, Omega exploded from the ground under his feet. The robot dashed up, claws first, and stopped the fake hedgehog's deadly strike.

"Omega," Shadow said, "what are you doing here?"

"Rouge asked me to assist you!" he answered.

With his claws tightening around Metal Sonic's body, he lifted him into the air, and then slammed into the ground, creating a noticeable dent. The force of the blow was so great, Metal Sonic was left with a dented body. And yet, he continued to fight. Dashing away, he landed on a cannon opposite of his foes. Touching down on the cannon, he aimed it toward Shadow and Omega, letting its bullets rain upon them. Shadow was quick, and dodged it easily. Omega, however, took the brunt of the strike. Aiming his arm forward though, he receded his claw into his limb, and replaced it with a rocket. Setting his aim straight, he fired one rocket that soared flawlessly through the air. It struck the cannon, and set it ablaze with fire. The explosion was so great, the force blew Metal Sonic off of the Egg Carrier. Too injured to return, his ember eyes glared away, and his jet engines propelled him to area's unknown.

"Metal Sonic has retreated!" Omega stated.

"Good, let's finish this mission!" Shadow answered.

Turning around, they faced the Egg Carrier's head.

"Not so fast..." a cold indifferent voice echoed.

Shadow's eyes widened. He recognized that voice. It was his own.

From behind a cannon, a figure resembling him in every way appeared. The only difference, was areas that were red on Shadow, were gold on him

"Android Shadow..." Shadow grumbled.

The gold clone looked at his counter part, as his quills rushed through the wind.

"Good afternoon, brother." he said, a grin growing, "Tell me, what brings you here today?"

"Omega... reconvene with Rouge, I'll deal with him." Shadow ordered.

"Affirmative..." he answered somberly.

Jet engines erupting, the hulking robot dashed down the Egg Carrier's top side. With just Shadow and his android remaining, the air got deathly silent, even with the rushing wind.

Suddenly, Shadow dashed forward, fist held high. In a split second, Android Shadow formed a rocket in his hand. Throwing it forward, the rocket exploded in the air. Shadow wouldn't be detered though, and braved the attack head own. Spinning through the rocket's flames, he landed in the area Android Shadow _should've_ been. He was gone already. His ruby eyes jerking left and right, he found his clone, standing on a fixture far away. Rifle in hand, the golden clone began taking shots at Shadow. The black hedgehog scoffed, and then zoomed around the bullets as a yellow streak. Reaching Android Shadow, he threw a punch that shattered the rifle and sent him flying back. Colliding with a wall, Android Shadow created a dent. But Shadow wasn't finished. Spinning into a ball, he dashed into his clone's chest, and struck him straight through the wall itself.

The duo landed inside, and fell atop a group of Egg Pawns. Not caring in the slightest, they continued their brawl. Shadow threw forth a punch, one that his clone blocked. Countering, Android Shadow threw forth a kick, one Shadow dodged. Quickly, he grabbed a hold of an Egg Pawn, and threw it at his clone. Android Shadow smacked the flailing body out of his face, but was left with little time to deflect Shadow's next hit. A punch connected with his jaw, and sent him flying back. Quickly, he snapped a pistol from out of nowhere, and shot forward. The bullets flew everywhere, but failed to strike Shadow. With a Chaos Spear in hand, he threw it pointblank at Android Shadow's body. The spear slammed into his chest, and caused electrical bolts to course through his body. When the lightning show ended, so did he. He grew silent, and a power down noise echoed.

"What's wrong," Shadow mocked, "can't stand up to the real thing?"

"Not... over... yet..." Android Shadow said, "Chaos Control..."

Before Shadow could stop him, he was gone in a brilliant flash of light. The battle finished, Shadow shifted his attention elsewhere. A second later, he was gone.

...

"Agent Omega," a voice called from his radio, "the area is secure, awaiting further orders."

"10-4." Omega said into the voice, "We have located Dr. Robotnik's command center, return to the Harrier Jet."

Lowering his arm, his radio died out. Here Rouge and Omega stood, in the old assembly hall of Dr. Robotnik's Egg Carrier. The old Dr.'s command center was right up a few flights of stairs. Right now, they awaited Shadow.

"Ugh, what is taking him so long?" Rouge questioned.

"Android Shadow has left the premises," Omega said, "it shouldn't take Shadow long to arrive."

On cue he appeared, behind them with a few huffs and puffs.

"Damn that Android..." he murmured, rubbing his skin.

"It took you long enough." Rouge snickered.

"Not now," he said back, "let's hurry up and end this..."

Reaching into the imaginary space that is his pocket, the hedgehog withdrew a pistol. Omega himself withdrew his gatling guns, while Rouge pulled out a gun of her own. As they walked up the staircase Shadow said,

"So... what're the chances we actually catch the Dr. this time?"

"15%..." Rouge answered with a groan, "This will never end..."

Coming to the door, the trio stopped. Shadow laid his hand on the door, counted to three with his fingers, and then suddenly kicked it down, gun drawn.

"Freeze, Dr.!" he roared out.

To his surprise, no one was here. The entire cockpit was devoid of life, save for a few maintainance droids. Shadow froze up, and so did Rouge. Only Omega showed no emotion.

"He's not here..." he murmured, stating the obvious.

"Ugh, where is he!?" Rouge yelled.

"He has to be here somewhere," Shadow said, "where else would he be?"

As the duo scanned the room for any sign of Robotnik, a screen receded from the ceiling, catching their attention. For a few seconds, it showed nothing, save for static, before an image appeared. Standing before them on the screen, face annoyed, mustache long, blue eyes behind glasses was Eggman. The agents scanned the room he was in, but they couldn't make it out exactly.

"Do you enjoy ruining my things?" Dr. Robotnik said, annoyed.

"Dr. where are you!?" Shadow yelled.

"Temper temper, Shadow," he scolded, "you don't want your blood pressure to get high."

Though he grew silent, his glare intensified.

"So you're not here." Rouge said bluntly enough.

"Of course not," Eggman taunted, "why would I leave my Egg Carrier in such a blatant area, and remained there?"

"Where are you?" Shadow demanded.

"Now why would I tell you that?" he replied.

"So... was this a trap?" he asked instead.

"Well... half and half..." the Dr. said with a grin, "You could say it is. I surely wasn't thinking G.U.N. would send their best agents after me, but how could I resist?"

"Then who was the trap for?" Rouge asked.

"Why Sonic, of course!" the Dr. said, "But since you are here, I guess I'll make due... I was planning something else for you three, but hey... don't look a gift horse in the mouth!"

"So you are planning something," Shadow quipped, "what is it!?"

"Why, you'll find out soon!" the Dr. sneered, "But for now, aren't those pesky soldiers of your just so... annoying?"

What was the Dr. planning? Suddenly, the image on-screen turned, and showed something else. It was where the Harrier Jet landed. Fortunately, no one had returned to the jet. But it showed... something...

There Hope was, fixing robot, after robot, after robot. Shadow, Rouge, and Omega locked up. What was she doing there?

"Tell me, Shadow," Dr. Robotnik snickered, "who is that?"

The image zoomed it. She looked so sad fixing the robots. Shadow stepped back.

"Not going to answer?" Dr. Robotnik asked, "Okay, be that way! Drop the cargo!"

The Egg Carrier shook.

...

One more robot down, another to go. Hope's wrench was working hard too, no matter how many robot's she fixed, another would take its place. Just how much longer could she do this? Well, as long as they kept coming.

Suddenly, the room shook. Hope's eyes looked toward the noise. The many Egg Pawns she had been fixing began running past her, leaving those who weren't finished to fend for themselves. Where were they going? The door they ran too suddenly closed, and Hope felt her heart drop. Standing up, she ran to the door, only to find it locked tightly shut. Oh no...

Laying her back onto the door, she turned around and faced the Harrier Jet. Wind began to rush through her blonde hair, and she began shaking. The Harrier Jet started moving back, as the darkness in the room was replaced with blue skies. This room... it was opening up!

The floor shifted down, and the air increased in speed and power. The Harrier Jet was taken by the wind, and it fell out of the Egg Carrier almost immediately. The wind only increased, and suddenly, Hope felt her feet slip. The air was taking her. Everything in the room, from dead robots, to fallen scrap, was taken by the air. Hope slipped up, lost her footing, and began falling with them. Before she knew it, she had left the Egg Carrier, and was plummeting to the ground at incredible speeds. And all she could do about was scream. Scream her little eyes out...

...

No! That wasn't going to happen! He had to stop this!

Just watching the screen show Hope get taken away, he felt his heart stop. And the only noise he heard, was Robotnik's malicious laugh. Turning around, everything began to melt away. He didn't even notice Rouge and Omega as he dashed out the cockpit. Skating at speeds he never thought possible, he made his way throughout the entire Egg Carrier. Steel, lights, robots, they all melted into one another as his speed grew and grew.

Why was he working so hard? Had Hope been any other soldier, he would have scoffed at her foolishness. The mission was the main focus.

But Hope wasn't any other soldiers.

Just thinking about her, falling through the skies, blue eyes filled with terror...

It wasn't a thought he liked.

He didn't care what happened.

He was going...

To save...

Hope...

It must have been only a few seconds, because he was here, at the Harrier Jet's crash spot. Blasting through the shut door, he leaped almost immediately through the open room. The wind over took him, but it carried something. The air rushing up past his ears, he heard something. Hope's screams.

Ruby eyes filled with resolution, he dashed forward in the air, his Air Shoes working in overtime. Dashing forward in the air, he had to dodge many pieces of scrap and fallen robots. But all that was immaterial, as all he cared for was saving Hope. He couldn't find her. Even with that black and red clothing of hers, he couldn't see her against the blue skies. Plowing through a cloud, he noticed the fallen castles of Kingdom Valley. The screams though, they were getting louder. She had to be close!

Dashing forward even faster, he his ruby eyes locked onto her position. There she was spinning around, as she lacked the ability to stabilize herself. She was crying so much, Shadow could feel her tears fall on his face. He wanted to tell her everything would be alright, but that would come later.

With another push of his shoes, he made his way to Hope's frame. His arms slid slowly under her legs, and neck, but she continued scream. He needed to slow their descent, so using his Air Shoes, he pointed them downward, and brought their free fall to an eventual stop. Hope must have not noticed, because she continued screaming. It wasn't until Shadow's hand dragged against her forehead, that she stopped.

Her blue eyes looked forward, and his ruby eyes looked back. A rush of emotions over came her almost immediately, and she drove her face into his chest. Never had she come so close to death. It was terrifying.

Her grip on his body grew and grew. She never wanted to let go. Not like this. It was stupid of her to sneak aboard the ship. She could've killed herself.

"Sh-Sh-Shadow..." she said through sobs.

His grip increased on her slender body.

"Not now, Hope..." he murmured, "Just... not now..."

So she continued crying. His furry chest was like the perfect pillow. Never again... she wouldn't do something stupid like that ever again...

With Hope in tow, Shadow could take in a deep breath. Everything was alright. Everything would be okay...

His eyes trekked back up to the Egg Carrier. He was going to kill that Egg head. He would make sure of it.

A blue flash echoed in the air, blinding Shadow for the time being. Hope looked forward to the Egg Carrier, and noticed its flame were... growing. Dr. Robotnik's laugh echoed through Kingdom Valley. And then, in a blast of air, and speed, the Egg Carrier vanished. Shadow looked forward.

"Oh no..." he murmured...


	6. AWOL

AWOL

The silence in the room returned. His laughing finished, the video done. He was alone again. Good... he needed time to think.

Laying his hand on his armrest, he pressed a button on it. The armrest lit up a shining blue color, and a screen floated down toward him.

"Computer," he mumbled, "show me the Egg Carrier's docking bay... about fifteen minutes ago."

The screen before him flashed through various images, before stopping. With the clock rolling, he watched the video. He watched a blonde girl, wearing clothing much to adult for her, fix many of his down robots. Unpleased with the view itself, he pressed another button on his armrest. The video began zooming in, before focusing on that girls face. Pressing another button on his armrest, he caused the image he saw to deblur so he could get a better look at the teenager before him.

She had blonde hair, blue eyes, a dainty demeanor, and skills with a wrench. But why did she look so familiar? Who was this blonde girl Shadow just sacrificed his team to save? And why, why did he feel like he knew her? From a past life, a future one, perhaps? Who was this little girl?

The door behind him slid open. Not giving the entrants the time of day, he kept his eyes locked on the blond girl within his screen. Who was she?

"Dr..." a certain hedgehog's voice rang.

The maniacal genius turned around in his chair, and gazed upon his defeated robots. Android Shadow stood, barely functioning, while his arms held up his ally Metal Sonic. Though the two looked pretty battered, it was obvious Metal Sonic was the worse one-off. Once the mechanical duo were in the midst of their master, they departed. Metal Sonic propped himself on the wall before entering sleep mode, while Android Shadow stepped toward his master.

"It seems," he said slowly, "the wrong people sprung the trap..."

He said it so slowly, it showed he was malfunctioning.

"Yes, but our trap was still sprung." the evil genius responded.

"What... do we... do?..." the golden clone asked.

"The plan is still a go," Robotnik answered, "we're just going to have to alter it a bit."

"That's... perfect..." Android Shadow said.

"Oh Android, take yourself and Metal to the robot infirmary, I believe you've deserved it."

The clone before him nodded. Turning around, he made a slight gesture of the hand to Metal saying 'follow me'. Coming to his feet, the blue demon followed his ally out the room. Once again, silence returned, with the AC being the only noise moving through the air. Sliding up his glasses, the Dr. return his gaze to screen before him. Who is this girl? Once again, he peered forward. Blue eyes trekking up and down, he analyzed it closely. Who, is, this, girl? Laying back in his chair, he felt his knees started to quake. Blonde hair... blue eyes... Shadow saved her...

She may have been some analouge for Maria! That had to be it! But... why did she look so much like his deceased cousin? Who was she?

Hope... Hope Robotnik...

His tongue fell out of his mouth as his teeth started to shine. Hope Robotnik! His niece!

Slamming down his hand, he couldn't control the amount of joy he was feeling. Another Robotnik, and he knew where she was! Gazing through the video, he also found her skills with the wrench were above and beyond a certain fox he knew. Another Robotnik, here, and she was a genius, just like him! Good...

Pressing a few buttons on his armrest, he caused the screen he was watching to return from wince it came. His blue eyes glared passed it, and to the incomplete machine he was currently working on. Snag no more...

Prodding his fingers, his near demonic grin returned. It was time for a family reunion!

...

"Rouge respond!" Shadow's voice called, "Rouge!"

Hope's eyes followed Shadow's every movement. The hedgehog strolled around in circles, as he screamed into his comlink.

"Rouge! Omega! Anyone! Answer me!" he would cry.

But there was nothing he could do... The Egg Carrier was gone, and the connection he had to his group was gone. No one answered him. Not Rouge, not Omega, not even any of those fools he was told to bring along. Just like the Egg Carrier they, poofed... vanished. Into thin air... Hope felt her heart drop. This was all her fault. Had she never snuck aboard that ship in an effort to find her Uncle... none of this would have happened.

She couldn't help but to cry. Watching Shadow pace back and forth in terror, it was too much for her to handle. And she caused it. This was her fault... all her fault... She couldn't help but to cry. Cry, cry, cry...

"Rouge..." Shadow said, his voice getting lower, "Please... say something..."

And like before... nothing but silence. His arms fell, and so did his head. Gazing down, he felt so low. He had... failed... His allies were captured, Dr. Robotnik got away, and he learned absolutely nothing about his plan. He didn't know how to react. What do you do in such a position?

"I'm sorry Shadow..." Hope's weak voice called.

Silence... that's all that echoed. Shadow remained still from the call, as he wondered if he should acknowledge her words or not. What did he do now? He couldn't return to the Commander, not with such a defeat on his hands. He had never, never, failed a mission before. Any paper work with Team Dark's name on it came back with 100% completion. No exceptions.

But this was a failure. And worse yet, it was to Eggman, a man who had been defeated by a cocky blue hedgehog one hundred times in one year. That is no exaggeration, by the way. Shadow couldn't deal with it. It was like a death-blow was dealt to his pride. And worse of all, it costed his friends. It was over... Shadow felt...

"Shadow?" Hope once again called, her hand grabbing onto his.

He didn't look at her, not at first. His gaze remained locked onto the ground. But Hope's grip tightened.

"Shadow," she said, sobbing, "this is my fault... all of it..."

No... no it wasn't... well, it was, but not in Shadow's mind. His ruby eyes moved over to Hope's distraught face. And for some reason, he felt as if everything was going to be alright. Hope must have had an invisible power over him. He couldn't stand seeing her so sad. He was going to rectify this, even if it killed him.

Body growing with lively vigor, he shifted his attention elsewhere. Fangs being shown, he raised his fist and said,

"I'm going after them..."

Hope shook her head.

"Wha-What are you talking about?" she questioned.

"I'm going after them... I'm going to find Dr. Robotnik, and kill him!"

"Shadow," Hope said somberly, "we don't even know where they are."

"Hasn't stopped me before," Shadow remarked, "finding the Dr. is easier than playing a game of tic-tac-toe..." he gave a sharpened glare, "X, marks the spot..."

"Shadow, listen to me!"

A sudden buz interrupted the two. Shadow gave a grimace, while his ruby eyes fell down to the comlink in his glove.

"Agent Shadow," a voice on the other side called, "it's me, the Commander, what is the status of the mission?"

Shadow shook his head. No, not now, he didn't feel like telling him now. He needed to answer him though, he couldn't just leave his commander hanging!

"Agent Shadow, are you there?" he questioned.

"Yes..." he answered lowly.

The Commander must have heard his somber tone, as the next few seconds went by with dead silence.

"What happened?" he suddenly questioned.

"It was a trap..." Shadow answered, "Dr. Robotnik... He kidnapped Agents Rouge and Omega, as well as everyone else aboard the Egg Carrier..."

More silence. Hope covered her mouth with her hands. Why hadn't he mentioned her yet? It was her fault, after all, that everyone was captured.

"Return to base Shadow..." the Commander said, "And prepare for a proper evaluation."

More silence...

"10-4..." he answered.

With a buz, the radio link died, once again leaving the hedgehog and his ally alone. His eyesight fell to the ground, as his face gave a failed and defeated glare. Hope tried to say something, but Shadow waved his hands, silencing her attempts.

"Come on," he suddenly said, his voice harsher than usual, "let's return to the base..."

Eye sight still down, he started off down the broken pathway of castles. Hope walked up, but she didn't feel to great. Sure, she was alone with Shadow, again... but she didn't like it. Had she not existed... none of this would have happened.

Suddenly, Shadow turned blue. Grabbing a hold of Hope's hands he whispered out,

"Chaos Control..."

And, as usual, they vanished...

...

The Commander's fingers prodded the folder before him. Such a simple mission... how did it devolve into failure so quickly?

Wrapping his aged hands around his coffee mug, he took a sip of the burning substance before him. A spike of energy coursed from the drink and to his insides. Had this been any other failure, he would have waved it off. Failures happen every now and then, after all. But this wasn't a failure made by a normal group of soldiers, no, this was a failure made by his best. Agents he held in high esteem, agents who have saved the world more times than he could count. And they failed? Failed to a bumbling scientist who can't even beat a blue teenager? Something wasn't right... he could tell...

Trap or not... there was something wrong...

The door slid open. He knew who it was. His eyes remained trained on the folder before him. The man before him turned the chair around, and sat in it. He was on the opposite side of the desk now, just away from him. The Commander took in a deep breath. His heterochromatic eyes dragged from the papers before him, and to the agent above. A cold, gruff, cough exited his mouth, and he straightened up.

"Shadow..." he murmured...

The hedgehog said nothing. Instead, he crossed his arms, and gazed off into the distance. The Commander could understand. Closing the folder before him, he once again lifted his coffee mug. Taking another sip, he placed it on the desk and gazed over to his agent.

"C'mon Shadow," he said, "tell me... what happened?"

The hedgehog remained silent and indifferent, as if he were holding something back. He didn't want to talk.

"Shadow," the Commander prodded, "tell me, what happened?"

Once again silence. The Commander didn't like to be ignored. He didn't care who it came from, wether it be his agents, his enemies, or a super powered hedgehog that could easily destroy this entire base. No one, ignores, the Commander...

"Shadow!" he said raising his voice, "What happened!?"

The hedgehog took in a deep breath. He did look so hurt, as if he himself couldn't believe what happened. The Commander nodded, oddly enough.

"Shadow, I'm your friend here," he said, "what happened?"

The hedgehog sighed.

"It was a trap..." he murmured, "No one... saw it coming... Dr. Robotnik laid out a trap aiming for us... that's why the Egg Carrier was there... Rouge and Omega were captured, along with every other soldier we brought..."

What a lie. And the Commander could tell it. Being as old as he was, he could tell the difference between fact and fiction. But why, why would Shadow lie? What was he hiding?

"Is there more?" he prodded.

"No..." Shadow lied...

"No? None?"

"No..." he stated adamantly. His eyes closed shut, "It was... my fault..."

"Oh? And why?"

"I abandoned my post..." Shadow said, weakly, "I... let my guard down..."

"Well then... let me get this straight... Agents Rouge and Omega were kidnapped, along with every other agent on board the Egg Carrier, and worst of all, you haven't the slightest clue where it went."

"Yes..."

The silence returned. The Commander let out a low sigh, and shifted his attention elsewhere. Why was Shadow lying? Who was he trying to protect? What was he planning? There was more to this story than he was letting on. Still, like every agent, he had to be punished. Shadow _admitted_ to abandoning his post. And though he didn't believe it, the words were recorded. So, here it came.

"Three weeks..." the Commander stated, shifting his eyesight to the folder before him.

"Three weeks?" Shadow questioned.

The Commander nodded.

"Yes," he said, "three weeks... Shadow the hedgehog, for the next three weeks I'm putting you on leave. We'll call you when we need you. So, for now, your G.U.N. license is suspended."

"But," Shadow stood up, "What about Rouge and Omega!?"

"That's no longer any of your concern," the Commander stated, "due to your failure, you will be suspended until further notice." his eyes shifted elsewhere, "We'll send our best agents on the mission of locating the Egg Carrier."

Shadow slammed his fist down.

"No!" he barked, "No agent is better than me!"

"From this mission's failure," the Commander stated, "I believe other wise..."

Shadow grew silent. Shaking his head, he didn't know how to react. Falling back into the chair, he sulked his head low. He couldn't believe it. He... didn't want to believe it. This was his failure, and therefore, his mission. He would rectify this problem. No matter what...

Eyes squinting, he let out a loud scoff. The next thing the Commander realized, he was gone. The old G.U.N. leader groaned, laid back in his chair, and trained his eyes on the doorway. Silence...

"You had better not fail me Shadow..." he murmured.

...

The hedgehog struggled to open his locker.

06-27-00

Wrong, dammit!

06-44-00

Wrong, again! Dammit! Again!

06-21-00

Click! Finally!

The locker door opened up. With eyes filled with rage, he glared at the photo he always marveled. Cycling through the many jackets he owned, he withdrew the one with the fury collar. Looking up, he then grabbed his keys. The Commander could suspend him all he wanted to, he was not going to sit there and take it. This was his mission, _his!_ No one else's. No ones...

The locker door slammed shut, and he trekked his eyes elsewhere. They met blue.

Before him stood Hope. Eyes locked on his. What was she doing here?

"Why?" she questioned.

Shadow said nothing. He knew what she was talking about.

"Why didn't you... tell him I was there? Why didn't you tell him you left to save me?"

"I told him the mission was a failure," Shadow answered, "nothing more... nothing less..."

"But it's not your fault!" Hope cried, "None of it is your fault! Its... its... all my fault... I caused all of this... me... not you..."

A tear fell from her eye. Shadow wiped it cleaned. His hand felt so warm. Ruby eyes danced up and down her frame, as she gave off such terrible body language. She really felt as if it were her fault.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm rewriting my wrongs." he answered.

"But, Shadow... You were suspended..."

"I know," he answered, "that won't stop me though..."

"But, Shadow..."

Removing his hand from her cheek, he started off. Hope's eyes remained on the ground for a few minutes, before the sound of the door sliding open and closed entered the air. It was her fault... all her fault... she needed to make good where she made wrong...

A few moments later, she too exited the boy's locker room. Walking across the hall, she entered the woman's locker room. A few steps, and she came to her locker door.

06-21-00...

Click!

Opening the door, she trekked her eyes up and down. Unlike most people at G.U.N., her locker was filled to the teeth with various tools. Since she lived in the base itself, she kept her clothing in her room, and her items in here. Her hands reached forward, and pulled out a tool belt. Gazing at its empty slots, she began picking various tools that would help her in the upcoming venture. Her usual wrench, of course, a flashlight, a screwdriver, a hand axe, and finally, a silver pistol. The same one she used earlier on the Egg Carrier... Sliding it in, she marveled at how perfectly it slid into the remaining slot. But she wasn't finished yet.

Gazing to the top half of her locker, she saw a picture. No one else had ever seen it, save for her. This photo, of a smiling man and woman... She smiled at it.

"Wish me luck..." she whispered.

Written on the photo, in perfect cursive, was the family name, _Robotnik_.

Taking the photo, she laid it inside a pouch on her tool belt. Her face turning elsewhere, she looked at the mirror on the locker's back side. Just looking at her self, cleavage exposed, tight jeans with bell bottoms, and tool belt around her waist. It may have been Rouge's clothing, but she felt as if it, oddly, matched her. Who's the Action Girl now?

Closing the locker door, she ran off, toward the parking lot.

...

The Phantom Cruiser. Sleek, powerful, and versatile, it looked like a cross between a speed boat and a tank. With four treads, a slender body, and the ability to overtake any vehicle wether it be on land, sea, or air, it was a machine of power. Added to the fact that it could transform into a jet and a speed boat, there was nothing it couldn't do. Well, other than the fact that it couldn't house two people.

Lifting his keys, he made his way to the mechanical beast. Where was he going? He didn't know, not yet, at least. As his body laid safely in the car's seat, he heard an echo of footsteps. He recognized them.

"Shadow!" Hope cried, "Shadow wait!"

By the time she arrived, his ruby sight were already locked onto her. His eyes were filled with resolution. He didn't have time to mess around.

"Shadow," Hope said through gasps of breath, "I'm... I'm... I'm... coming with you!"

His eyes slanted. Glaring at her, he analyzed her body closely. Specifically, he eyes danced alongside her belt. It hugged her so tightly... so... perfectly...

Wait... what?

"No, Hope," he said, looking away, "you can't come..."

"Shadow!" she said, her face growing stern, "This is all my fault! I'm coming!"

"This isn't your battle!" Shadow said back, "So go to your room!"

"No, you're wrong!" she yelled, "I'm apart of Team Dark, just as much as you are!" she grew frail, "Rouge and Omega... they're my friends too..."

The silence in the room grew nigh unbearable. Shadow shook his head. He couldn't bring her along. It was his failure, not hers...

"Please Shadow," she said, "let me help you..."

Ergh, his head was hurting! Why was this happening, why now? Why... why her? Why Hope? She must have had a power over him, one he didn't understand. Just looking at her now, so sure, so willing, so ready... Fine...

"If you can fit on this thing," he said, looking away, "then you can come along..."

Oh she was so overjoyed with those words! Hopping up and down, she entered a childish demeanor and clapped her hands with gleefulness. But, realizing this wasn't the time for rejoicing, she regained her composure, and made her way to the Phantom Cruiser. Her fingers brushing alongside the G.U.N. symbol on the cruiser's head, she scanned the great vehicle. This time, she wouldn't be defeated by such a problem as simple as one seat.

Eyes flying elsewhere, she said,

"Say... do you think G.U.N. would notice if one of its buggy's went missing?"

With a slight movement of her hand, she drew attention to one of G.U.N.'s massive vehicles. Big, black, with red lines on it, the G.U.N. buggy was a mammoth of a vehicle. Armed with rockets, jet boosters, and four-wheel traction, there was practically nowhere it couldn't go. Best of all, it had two seats. Shadow scanned the vehicle and nodded.

"Sure..." he said, getting up from the Phantom Cruiser.

He climbed in the G.U.N. buggy first. A moment later, Hope climbed in too. To Shadow's surprise, she already had the keys in her hand. Plugging it into the ignition, she gave the vehicle life. With a smirk and a nod, Shadow took the wheel, and drove out of the parking lot. It may have not been fast, but it would do, for now, anyway. Just like before, the hedgehog and his accomplice drove off into the sunset.

And yet, the shadows in the parking lot began to bend.

Stepping out from behind a vehicle, green snake eyes watched the two leave. Shadow Hope, or Mephiles, stood in the darkness, his eyes filled with sadistic intent. Lifting his hand, he flicked the grey hair he had. Over time, grey began to brighten up, and it was soon replaced with a shimmering blonde. Closing his eyes, he opened it suddenly, replacing the green snakes, with blonde orbs. A moment later, the skin on his body began to become a fleshy pink, just like Hope's. Next, he brushed his fingers along side his grey undershirt, replacing it with the red Hope was known for. And then, last but not least, his mouth. Grabbing the area where his mouth should have been, he began pulling back. Violently, he tore the organ he needed with his fingers. Immediately, he grew a smile.

Mephiles' transformation was complete. Cracking his knuckles, his eyes found the reflecting mirrors of a car. He gazed at himself, as he gave a malicious smile. He looked just like Hope. Gooooooooooooooooooood...

Turning his head, he made his way for the adolescent girl's room.

G.U.N. wouldn't know what hit them.

* * *

_Trivia Time!_

_Once again, I shall divulge some information to you!_

_Now, that vehicle, the Phantom Cruiser. If you didn't notice, that's the vehicle Hope was cleaning in the beginning, duh. What it is though, is Shadow's vehicle from Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. Unlike the last game, there were no profiles for the characters, explaining who they were and what vehicle they drove (which sucks because I don't have a clue who some characters are... like Pudding or Gum). So, in Sonic and Sega All-Stars racing, Shadow's bike was called Dark Rider. Since the car in the sequel didn't have a name, I had to give it one. Thus the title of Phantom Cruiser. I think its cool, how 'bout you? I really wanted that car to be in the story, but since it's a one seater, I opted out for the G.U.N. buggy from Sonic '06. _

_Oh well, that's enough trivia for today. Please review and tell me what you like and don't like, and feel free to ask any questions. If you do, I'll try to answer them in the next chapter._

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	7. Passing Breeze

Passing Breeze

Oh boy did she love the fact that G.U.N. Buggy's have no hoods! The wind rushing through her hair, she loved that feeling. Sure, it was impractical in battle, and would actually do more harm than good, but dammit if it didn't feel so good! Arm slung over the side, other arm on the rest, blonde hair waving, shades on eyes, sun held high... there was no way to describe this.

It was the next day, Shadow and Hope were off to find the missing Egg Carrier, and their quest had lead them on a nice long drive. They had stopped by Club Rouge quickly to prepare for the venture, and to also lock the club down. That wouldn't be so great for business, but they could care less.

During the night they spent getting prepared, Hope had, admittedly, changed her clothes for some or Rouge's. On her hands, laid a pair of gloves most akin to Rouge's. She also wore a strapless light blue shirt, and some jeans that hugged her a bit tighter than usual. The only thing that remained of her original clothing were the tennis shoes she usually wore. Why had she chose this clothing? Well, it dealt with the hedgehog beside her.

Gazing over from under her shades, she scanned his demeanor. He was so angry and determined, he would find that Dr. and rescue his team. Taking looks at Shadow every now and then, re-energized Hope, and made her remember the task at hand. As fun as it was to drive with Shadow, she needed to remained focus. Rescuing her allies were the main priority.

So gazing forward, her gleeful smile became utter determination. Still...

"Say Shadow," Hope said, gazing to him, "where are we going?"

"Emerald Town." Shadow answered solemnly enough.

"Why there?" Hope questioned.

"You weren't there, so you don't know," Shadow said, looking at her, "the Dr. said the trap wasn't laid for us, but for Sonic and presumably his friends."

"So...?"

"The blue idiot lives at Emerald Town last I heard..." his hand floated to the Buggy's dashboard, "And last I checked, Emerald Town is in Emerald Hill Zone which lies near Central City..."

Ah Central City, the capital city of the United Federations. Hope had been there a few times, but from what she's heard, Shadow had been there even more times. The hedgehog had even met the president before, hell, he's met him more than once. And also, from last Hope could remember, the G.U.N. base used to be located in Central City, but the Black Arms attacked left that base crippled and forced it to move to its current location.

But enough about Central City.

The drive to Emerald Town would take forever, to get there, one would have to go past Station Square, along Emerald Coast, then through Battle Highway, probably a trip through Hill Top Zone, which would lead to Casino Night and Mystic Cave Zones, _then _Central City, and finally, if they were quick enough, they'd arrive at Emerald Town. The trip would take all day, if they were lucky, and knowing their tendency to get attacked by God knows what, that means their chances of arriving on time would be diminished. Then again, Shadow was a black blur.

So, with a sigh, she accepted the long trip. Brushing blonde hair from her face, she hovered her dainty mechanic fingers to the Buggy's dashboard. Though she didn't look at him, she noticed Shadow's interests were peaked through the corner of his eye. A smirk appeared on her lips, and she started cycling through songs on the radio. A moment later, she found one to her interests.

Magical Sound Shower...

Hope's eyes moved skyward. Toward them, on the long highway, a sea of tall buildings. Station Square.

With the massive Buggy on the road, many cars moved out of Shadow and Hope's way. As Hope's eyes followed the cars bend past her, she felt so alive. And then, through the sounds of the music, her head turned over to Shadow. For a while, his ruby eyes remained trained on the roads ahead. But... his head started to bob up and down. The music was catchy.

Raising his hand, he brushed back his quills. A slick smile appeared on his lips, and he gazed at Hope. She looked back. Like a little girl, Hope made her fingers walk over to Shadow's arm. It slowly got on his arms, and she began curling his fur around her fingers. She was so enamoured by the sight of his silky fur, she hadn't noticed the blush growing on her cheeks. But she noticed his.

Shadow scoffed, turned away, and slowly started mumbling. What he said was unimportant, though his facial features grew softer.

His grip on the steering wheel tightening, he started to ride past cars at high speeds. Hope gazed skyward and started to giggle like the teenager she was. Hope would, on occasion, lean her body out of the buggy, and wave at the passing cars. The high buildings of Station Square were so great, one could barely see the sun. The shade it casted over the streets were so cool and calming.

Shadow started to weave through vehicles at high speeds, causing Hope to grow even more happy. The Buggy, as big as it was, easily dodged many cars that passed it. With a slight of the hand, Shadow pulled the shift stick back and caused the car to move into a drift. Flawlessly, he dodged many cars while at the same time maintaining the speed he held on the vehicle. In a slipstream created by the other vehicles, Shadow curved around the corner and only got faster. Once his drift ended, he came in the same vicinity of a bus. But, as perfectly as usual, he was able to move right beside the great vehicle without crashing into it. Hope stretched out her hand, and touched the silver-grey hound bus with her gloved fingers. Once they passed it, she laid back with a silly smile.

Why hadn't any police shown up yet? Shadow's driving, while perfect, was so fast and dangerous. Maybe it was the fact that they were driving a G.U.N. vehicle, and as far as Hope was concerned, G.U.N. overrides the police. Then again, that was just what she believed.

The road through the tall buildings started to change. Buildings ceased growing, and they eventually disappeared. The road had so quickly transformed into a pavement street dragging alongside the beach. Hope glared over the cliff side and down to the beaches of Emerald Coast. Sooner or later, they'd have to take some roads which would lead past Emerald Coast. But boy, wouldn't it be fun if she spent just a few hours on the beaches with Shadow? Knowing him, he'd probably just sit alone and read... maybe...

Shadow's speed grew, and he started to dodge cars once more. But the road ahead was so wild and erratic, it curved so much, as if it were a snake. As Shadow came along side quick turns, he'd drift around the corner without even thinking about it. But the roads were so compact, one turn would be replaced with another. And yet, the hedgehog was never once scared. His speed maintained itself, and he continued to drift. When a turn would come that pointed in the opposite direction, he'd merely switch the drift around and continue with the road. He was good like that.

Hopping up and down in her seat, Hope approved of his wild driving nature.

"You're so cool!" she cried with glee.

Shadow grew a grin.

"Well, I've said it before, I'll say it again, I'm the coolest!"

Pulling back on the Buggy's shift, he switched its gear, causing the already fast vehicle to go even faster. In the distance, Hope noticed the beautiful Emerald Coast to melt away. Oh well!

More cars appeared on the road as the coastal streets shifted into a long highway. Battle Highway, to be exact. The skies had become a near dirty brown. Battle Highway existed near a power plant not to far off, and the air here was polluted and extremely hot. And yet, it made such a perfect backdrop.

Shadow passed cars like it was no one's business. In fact, the vehicles on Battle Highway had long since transformed from the usual fair to construction lot and maintenance vehicles. A steam roller, which was repairing damaged roads, lied just ahead of the black hedgehog. Smirking, he increased the Buggy in speed and overtook it, all while Hope's giggle's egged him on. Once again, the adolescent girl waved to the driver of the massive vehicle. Just passed that, an eighteen wheeler. In fact, there was a whole line on convoys driving down the highway, with many construction vehicles spread amongst them. Once again smiling, Shadow slipped the Buggy's gear up another notch.

Wind blowing off of the trucks they passed brushed along Hope's face, cooling her down ever so much. The G.U.N. Buggy drove up passed one truck only to be faced with another. The trucks were slowly closing in on one another, leaving Shadow with little time to react. Then again, he's a super hedgehog, so he was always given plenty of time to react.

Pressing on the end of the stick shift, he caused a secret hatch to open up on it. Underneath this hatch, a red button. Grinning, Shadow pressed it. Hope turned around, and noticed the boosters on the back slowly open up. Inside of them, jets that gave off blue flames. The boosters increased the speed of the Buggy, and forced it off between the rapidly closing gaps the trucks were destroying. The sudden increase in speed jerked Hope back, but she didn't feel any pain. The cushions on her seat were oh so soft.

With a bounce, the Buggy continued on its trek down the long highway. Passing trucks and the occasional dumpster truck the duo finally broke free of the convoy line. As the trucks disappeared behind her, Hope gave off a smile and a wave. Gazing up, the brown burning skies melted away. Hope closed her eyes, and allowed the rush of wind to take her away. Everything felt just so perfect.

Suddenly, the air became cold. Hope stretched out her hands and yawned before opening her blue orbs. To her surprise, all she saw was mist. A face of confusion came to her face, she jerked her eyes down. Gazing around, she slowly took in the sights of the surrounding area.

Mountains as high as the clouds were all around. The grass was various shades of green, while the dirt was, oddly, many shades of blue. Hope had, as far as she could remember, never been to Hill Top Zone before. It was so cold though, she began shivering. Sliding up her shades, she took a gander at Shadow. His ruby eyes were trained forward though in steady determination. Wait... was that music still playing? It felt like it had been since they left, oh well.

With another drift, Shadow brought the car down a long turning road. The sudden drop in gravity made Hope scream out in minor fear. It was like a roller coaster!

The dropping turn entered another turn, and caused Shadow to once again drift. They were moving so fast, it was exhilarating! Cars were coming their way, and once again, Shadow dodged them with great finesse. Wow... Hill Top had such twisting roads!

Mountainous rocks lied beside them as the only image in the background. Hope felt, that if she just stretched her hand out, she'd be able to touch it. Suddenly, the road bumped up a hill, only to come down another one. Hope loved the feeling of gravity lifting a dropping, it sent her head on a whirlwind.

Suddenly the G.U.N. Buggy entered a dark and deep cave. The only lights came from the vehicle's headlights, and the small lights strung together on ceiling. Naturally, one would slow down as to not hit anyone else, but of course, this was Shadow. Smiling devilishly, he pulled back on the stick shift, causing the Buggy to bump up another gear. His speed even greater, he caused the Buggy to scream out into the air. The noise bounced off the air, and for a while the only thing many could hear, was the noise of that massive vehicle.

Once again, Shadow started to drift as the dark cave road entered a turn. He was so good at it, it made Hope wonder who taught Shadow how to drive like this? He must have been self-taught, because only he could do it so well. He sped by many vehicles on the outer side of the road, giving everyone he past the perfect view of his face. And of course, he smiled, right before he overtook them in speed and in position.

As he slipped back onto the center of the road, he noticed a gleaming light come. Grinning, he once again pushed the speed up on the vehicle. Hope on the other hand started to laugh hysterically. Why was she having so much fun?

The Buggy dashed out of the cave like a black blur. Hollering to the clouds, it made every thing around know of its presence. And the song... it was still going... boy, it was long.

The cave lead to another series of roads on the hills, and just like before, the Buggy bounced up and down on them. Unfortunately, it came to a quick end. The grassy sides of the roads were quickly replaced with red pavements. The roads became an extremely dark black, while the buildings around flashed red with beauty. Casino Nights...

Just like Night Babylon, it was dark, and invoked the feelings of debauchery and gambling. This place though, was a bit different, as all around there were many statues made in honor for Sonic and Tails. To be honest, this place was a bit more kid friendly, as there was a lot of hero-worship. Oddly, the skies were extremely dark, as if night had already come. What was it about Casino Nights that did this? Zones were weird places.

The roads had, once more, become sparse and empty. Though there were many cars, they were all far and sparse in between. It was as if, the road had been given to them. Gazing up Hope marveled at the beauty of Casino Nights. She needed to remember, that when she got older she'd come here.

The roads of Casino Nights were so perfectly made, even with the flashing lights all around. Shadow kept his focus though, it was as if he became one with the vehicle he drove. Cars blurred away as his speeds increased to nigh unbearable levels. And Hope loved it. She felt as if she was melting away at the speeds they were going at. It was good... to put it lightly. The roads went up and down, some under bridges, some over other roads, it was as if the entire city was its own playground, made only for them.

Shadow's eyesight locked onto the surrounding as he dodged various vehicles. Wait... was he smiling? Shadow hadn't even noticed until his eyes crossed sight of his side mirror. He was smiling. He wasn't supposed to be smiling. This was serious, he was trying to save his friends. Then... why was he so happy?

His ruby eyes floated over to Hope's frame. She looked so happy. Her blue eyes were locked on the surroundings as a face of pure glee and pleasure was written on her face. Her clothing was so... different, he hadn't even taken out the time to notice it. That blue strapless shirt that showed off her cleavage, the jeans that hugged her curves and butt. Dammit... she looked... sexy?

Shaking his head he returned his eyes to the road. Okay, its official, he was loosing his mind.

Once again, the scenery changed. The great night zone of Casino Nights disappeared as the duo made their wave into a great looming cave. Mystic Cave zone was so dark and the lights on the side was so faint, no one really went into here. The roads were old and aged, and they rattled as the wheels drove over them. Unlike before, Hope grew silent as she was so awestruck by the surrounding area. Long in the distance one could see many other old roads stretch off in the distance. Hope laid her elbows on the sides of the Buggy, breathed in deeply, and smiled. It was so dark... and she loved it...

Slowly, her blue eyes trekked over to Shadow. The light from the car brightened up his face, and gave a high-definition of the folds of his fur. If only... right?

Once again, her hand trekked over to Shadow's being. He looked deep in concentration though, probably not the best time to mess with him. But she pressed on, her fingers walked and walked until they came to Shadow's arm. At first, he looked as if he hadn't noticed it. But then, his hand grabbed her's. Hope was taken aback by the movement, and gasped suddenly. Shadow shook his head, looked at her, and then said,

"You're such a kid."

Yeah... she was such a kid... this whole business, with Team Dark being kidnapped, was because she was so childish... but she didn't care... not now, at least. He could call her kid all he wanted... she loved it...

Shadow's fingers got slowly in between hers. Or maybe, it was the other way around. Or, perhaps, he had done so unconsciously. She didn't care, the grip was so warm and soft...

The darkness of the cave moved away. The G.U.N. Buggy rolled out of Mystic Cave, and onto an old abandoned road. After another few seconds of driving, it came to a mountainous road, one that lied outside of Central City. Hope's blue eyes peered over the edge of the Buggy, and took in the sights of the Capital. Oh, how she loved it.

Still, the Black Arms did a number on this place. Even though the city was going under extensive recreation, it still appeared to be in a bit of duress. Many fallen buildings lied, along side destroyed roads and ruined parks. Yeah... it looked both sad, and hopeful. One day, it would return to its pretty self once more. But until then...

Shadow's grip escaped hers, and his speed came to a slow. A pout came to Hope's lips, though she was not sure if it was because his driving slowed, or if it were because he let go. With the speed of the Buggy so stable, Hope could see around the great streets of Central City. The buildings were taller than she could have ever believed, heck, they were taller than the ones in Radical City and Station Square combined. Even if this was once a battlefield, it was a great place. Wow...

Hope laid back in her and kept her eyes on the roads. She felt so calm. The other cars on the streets were just added scenery to her, as they ceased to matter. It didn't take long for Shadow to make his way through all of Central City. Just a drive here and a drive there, they were soon out to the city limits, and finally passed them.

The smell of sea salt floated through the air and entered Hope's nostrils. The sky had changed from bright and beautiful when they left, to red and orange upon their arrival. Here it was, Emerald Town. The home of the Blue Blur himself. Yeah... The home of a hero...

The town laid at the base of a hill, with a nice beach, Emerald Beach, down at the end. Well, their adventure may not have been over yet, but it was getting somewhere.

"Shadow," Hope murmured, looking at him, "you never told me why we were going to Sonic..."

"I remember I did." he said, looking at her.

"No, no, no... you never explained why it mattered..."

"Well, since Sonic was the target... he would be the target again. I'm sure the Dr. is going to attempt something, sooner or later..."

Sooner or later...

The Buggy glided down the road at such calm speeds. Everything had went from frantic to calm so quickly. Sooner or later...

"Watch out!"

Wait... that sounded familiar... bubbly, young, and cute even.

Before Shadow could assess the words, a pink vehicle struck him and the G.U.N. Buggy from behind. Now, if any vehicle got into a collision with a G.U.N. Buggy, then that vehicle was as dead as crap. But the vehicle that hit him wasn't a normal vehicle. In fact, it got the best of the massive Buggy.

Striking the left side of the car, it sent the Buggy wheels up. Hope let out a great scream, while Shadow gave a look of indifference.

Of course... these things were so cruddy...

Though, he tried his best to stop the vehicle's deadly flip-up, it did relatively nothing. And Hope wouldn't stop screaming. So, at speeds no one could see, Shadow snapped off his belt and Hope's. He was moving so fast, the girl could only see a shadowy blur. Wrapping her frame in his arms, he leaped out of the moving vehicle and onto the pavement ground. The Buggy continued its top side flip, and eventually drove off the road, and to the grass on the sides. With a loud and mighty crash, it landed upside down. The radio, of course, died out.

"Hope..." Shadow called, "Hope..."

Her blue eyes opened up slowly. They were on the grass, safely away from the now defunct vehicle. Hope's back was on the grass, while Shadow laid atop her. For the second time, in two days, he saved her.

His ruby eyes gleamed as they looked at her. Just like usual, he had a face of cold, stoic, indifference. She must have looked so scared right now. She could feel tears running along side her cheek. She must have been a child, because she cried so much...

Looking at Shadow's hands, they laid right beside her head. Yes... she was cradled in the shade of his body.

"Hope?" he called again, "Are you alright?"

She didn't know when... she didn't know why... but... in such a quick movement... One the lips... She... she... she kissed him...

* * *

_Trivia Time!_

_Yeah even more!_

_And twice in a row!_

_Well, I just love Outrun! If you hadn't noticed. Just like Heart Attack Mode, this entire chapter is a huge reference to it. For those who don't know, Outrun is a driving game where you ride through many different areas with some hot blond chick at your side. I guess in this chapter, that 'hot blonde' is Hope. The best part of Outrun, is the ending. The better you do, the better the ending you get. So... I guess the ending to this chapter is a great one, right?_

_I love Outrun so much. The title of the chapter is actually the name of one of the musical pieces you can listen to from the game. But by far my favorite one is the theme Hope switches on the radio. Yeah, that Magical Sound Shower is a real theme, I recommend you listen to it._

_Ugh... I make so many references to Outrun, I think I should've made them drive a G.U.N. Ferrari, not a G.U.N. Buggy..._

_Oh well, that's enough rambling on for now. I apologize if this chapter feels fluffy to you, I needed to interject some romance into it, ya'know?_

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	8. Kisses

Kisses

Oh... that kiss...

It was so long and tasteful...

She just kissed him so simply and so long. Nothing too wild or to adult, just a normal everyday kiss. Her lips were on his lips and her eyes were closed. She didn't know what has happening. Just darkness, and that one, simple, kiss.

And she broke away.

And audible 'mphwat' noise separated the two. Why had she done so? Why had she kissed him? Oh no... what would he say?

"Hey? Is everything okay around here?" that cute, bubbly voice from before called.

The shade over her body disappeared. Shadow moved.

"Yeah," his voice answered, "we're okay over here..."

Hope's eyes opened and she gazed forward. The sky was still orange and red... the sun was setting...

Leaning up, she gazed over to Shadow. He now stood near the road, arms crossed, eyes gazing off toward the voice. He looked as if the kiss never happened.

Hope hated herself right now. Laying back onto the grass, she covered her eyes as low non-audible sobs echoed her mouth. She must have made herself look like a fool. Why? Why hadn't he said something? Please, that's all she wanted, for him to walk back, and say something, anything! Anything...

"Oh Shadow," the voice called, "its you!"

Rubbing her eyes clean of tears, Hope gazed forward. Shadow was still at the road's edge, but now there was a pink hedgehog in his midst. Amy Rose.

"I'm so sorry," another, younger, even cuter voice, called, "Mr. Shadow, are you okay?"

A moment later, light brown hair flew up, using her massive ears as wings. She hovered near Amy for a second or two, before landing on the ground.

"I'm alright, Cream..." Shadow answered.

"I told Amy to slow down," the rabbit stated, "but she was so dead set on getting to Mr. Sonic's house."

"Hey!" Amy said, "He was the one who popped up out of nowhere! Besides, I gave him fair warning!"

"I don't think yelling out watch out, is fair warning..." Shadow stated solemnly.

Enraged, the pink hedgehog started barking out random words, but Shadow cared so little, he started to walk off. His attention shifted toward the G.U.N. Buggy, and he made his way toward it. Amy ran up to his side to berated him, leaving Cream alone on the road's side. Her chocolate brown eyes floated around a bit, before finding their way to the human girl laying on the grass. Blue eyes looked at brown ones for a while, as neither side knew just exactly what to do.

"Chao! Chao!" a bow tie wearing chao yelled out.

The rabbit shifted her attention to the oncoming creäture, before saying,

"Calm down Cheese..."

"Chao?" he said in confusion.

"Cheese!"

Her chao silenced for the time being, she returned her gaze to Hope. And then, with a smile, she started skipping off toward the human. Hope didn't know what to do as this rabbit made her way toward her. Who was she, and how did she know Shadow?

"Are you okay?" she asked nicely enough.

At first, Hope was in so much shock, she didn't know how to react to it. The rabbit noticed this too, and stretched forth her hand.

"Are you okay?" she reiterated, nicely enough.

"Uh... yeah..." Hope answered, causing the rabbit's face to brighten up.

"Ah, were you riding with Mr. Shadow?" she asked, "We saw him and you fall out of your car."

Grabbing onto the rabbit's hand, Hope helped herself up.

"I'm Cream the rabbit," the young hare said, "and you are?"

"I'm... Hope." the mechanic replied.

"Hope? That's such a nice name!"

"Chao! Chao!" the chao cried with a smile.

"Oh, this is my chao, Cheese!" Cream said.

"Cream... and Cheese?" Hope said, noticing the blatant pun.

"Uh-huh!" suddenly, the rabbit's eye became those of inquisition, "Wait," she said, "where's Miss Rouge, and Mr. Omega?"

"Shadow!" Hope called, changing the subject.

The black and red hedgehog had already made his way to the downed Buggy. As Amy _continued_ to berate him on _his _driving skills, he was busy trying to flip the Buggy right side up. The Buggy's may have been easily flipped on the road, but getting them back up was always a different story. Of course...

Pushing forward an effort, Shadow was able to get the Buggy back on its wheels. As soon as it returned though, a snapping, near explosive, sound echoed from the Buggy's hood. A moment later, the hood opened up, revealing a near destroyed engine. A black and brown plume of smoke exited the Buggy's hood, showing that the car wouldn't be used anytime soon.

"Hope," Shadow called, arms on his waist, "could you take a look at this?"

She locked up. Was he not even going to acknowledge the kiss? He was acting as if it didn't happen. Maybe... it didn't happen... well, that thought made her feel less childish right now. For the better...

She walked up to the Buggy's head, and scanned the engine. Oh yeah, it was totaled. Who designed this vehicle? Maybe Shadow pushed it too hard on the drive over here, but damn. It looked as if it had spent an hour in a flame throwers midst. To put it lightly, it wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

Shrugging, she looked at Shadow. He wasn't looking at her...

"... So that's why I didn't run you off!" Amy yelled, finishing her rant.

"Oh, you were still talking?" Shadow mocked, "I hadn't noticed..."

Amy's pink face flashed red with rage, but Shadow was so uninterested, he walked off. The pink hedgehog was about to yell at him, but her green eyes looked over to Hope. She hadn't even noticed her in her rage. The first thing that ran through the pink hog's mind though was _Boy, she looks like a slut!_ Maybe... it wasn't the best for Hope to be wearing these clothes.

"Who are you?" Amy asked, despite herself.

"Huh, what?" Hope answered, bringing her eyes away from the engine.

"I asked, who are you."

"Her name is Hope!" Cream said, flying up.

"Hope?" Amy said, surprised.

The way she looked with these Rouge-like clothing, it made her feel too dirty to bear the name of, 'Hope'. But, the girl seemed self conscious of her clothing. Crossing her arms, she tried her best to cover the cleavage she bore. It was as if Amy's eyes were scanning her closely.

"Uh... and you?" Hope asked.

"I'm Amy Rose." she said, her voice quasi-venomous.

"Okay... Shadow!"

With a light jog, she made her way to the black and red hedgehog. He was at the Buggy's back-end, with the trunk open. Inside, everything they had brought on their quest. From various weapons to Hope's tools, they were all inside.

"Shadow, I-"

"Here," he cut her off, handing her her tool bet, "I think you'll be needing this."

His voice sounded... harsh. That couldn't be good.

Her tool belt hung from his fingers and in front of her eyes. Just from his words, she could tell he didn't want to talk. Grabbing the tool belt, she snapped it around her waist. But, she just had to look at him. His ruby eyes looked different, as if... as if...

She just couldn't explain it!

Slowly, Shadow pulled out a handgun. Sliding it into his invisible pockets, he shook his head. And then, he looked at her. Hope... couldn't take the glare.

"Mr. Shadow?" Hope said, looking over the edge of the car, "What are you doing here?"

Gazing back, he gave a light-hearted smile. Only Cream could bring out the nice side in people. Reaching forward, he ruffled the fur on the top side of her head.

"We were just going to visit Sonic, is all." he answered, his voice at a higher pitch than usual.

"Oh really?" she answered with a smile, "But... you and Mr. Sonic don't get along to well..."

"Yeah, I know... but this is important..."

"Okay... but... where is Miss Rouge and Mr. Omega? Shouldn't they be here?"

Shadow stood up tall again. Looking elsewhere he said,

"That... isn't important right now..."

Cream must have known, because she nodded with understanding. Her brown eyes looked elsewhere, and found themselves on Amy's vehicle. It only had two seats, unfortunately...

"I'm sorry, Mr. Shadow," she said, "I don't think Amy's car can fit you..."

"As if I wanted it too!" Amy yelled, "Why would I help someone who accuses me of being a bad driver?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Shadow," Cream said, "Sonic promised her a date today... she's pretty ancy..."

"Of course..." he answered.

Now the rabbit herself gained the ire of her friend. Amy had started to rant about putting her business out there for all to here. Shadow, growing annoyed by it, stepped away and toward Hope. His nature became overbearing to the girl, and she started to look off. She couldn't face him.

Suddenly, she was off of her feet. Looking around, she realized Shadow had started holding her bridal style. Walking over to the road, he gazed down the hill the were on, and toward good old Emerald Town.

Oh boy... Shadow's hands against her skin made her feel so good. But, she wasn't suppose to be having these feelings, not now at least. Glaring to him, his face didn't look to her's. He was just walking stoicly toward the city. Why was he being so distant all of a sudden?

Oh... why did she kiss him? She needed to say something, anything, but she was too terrified. She just wanted him to say anything. Anything! Wether it be calling her a child, mentioning the kiss, or something else. Just... anything... Anything to acknowledge the existence of that kiss or not.

But he didn't say anything.

His feet kicking up, he began skating off toward the town. He wasn't as fast as usual though, and appeared to be more cruising than running. Coming down the hill, they were suddenly joined by Amy's pink vehicle. Over the hood, she made a face at Shadow, which he easily scoffed off. And then he bursted forward with great speeds. He was moving so fast, Hope noticed he was no longer skating, and was more like flying over the ground. The speeds were greater than any speed they had gone on in the past few days. It was as if, Hope was being taken away by the vacuüm of space itself. And then, just as quickly as it started, it was over. They were at Emerald Town, in the center, standing. With all the driving they had been doing, Hope forgot that Shadow was faster than _all _of it.

He sat her down, and turned away. Hope hated that... his nature was near cruel to her. She wanted to say something, but... not here. Gazing up, she was in the center of Emerald Town, with many vehicles all around. What if someone noticed her? She was a human and he was a hedgehog. They would condemn her. But... she needed to say something!

"Shadow!"

"Not... now..." he answered.

It was so horrible sounding. She locked up.

Ruby eyes trekked back and forth.

"Now... where is that fool?" he murmured under his breath.

Without another word, he started walking off. Hope remained frozen though. Why was he being so cold. Yes, Shadow was always cold, and honestly, this was him acting usual. But never, _never_, around her. He was always... nicer than this... always...

She didn't want to draw attention to herself. She felt horrible as is. So, with arms held low, and demeanor in the pits, she started following him.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered.

...

"SOOOONIIIIIICCCC!"

His green eyes shot open! Dammit, why now!

Here he was, the blue hero, wrapped in the covers of his own bed. He was having such a nice dream. Chilli Dogs, as far as the eyes could see! And then, it all came crashing down.

Why Amy, why now, why here?

Seriously, why here? Things had been going so calm the past week, why had she suddenly showed up now?

"SOOOONIIIIIICCC!"

And her voice, he was going to drive him mad! Glaring around the room, he noticed the window had shown the setting sun. Well... it wasn't that late... Oh, but why now?

"SOOONNNIIIIICCC!" her voice was angry... that wasn't good.

Leaping from his bed, he glared around the area. First, his shoes. Zipping as a blue blur, he dashed around the room to procure them. Shoes on his feet, he needed his gloves. In another blur, he picked them up and slid them on. Finally, the door. Wait... no, not the door. Why did Amy show up? He needed to think...

"Sonic if you skipped out on our date, so help me God!"

Oh... that's why... the date...

It was last week. She had been chasing him up and down Green Hill Zone. He would have yelled at her, but he knew better. That Piko Piko hammer would crush his tail. So... he made a deal. She stopped chasing him for the following week, and he'd take her anywhere today...

Dammit... why did he make such a foolish bet...

Laying his hand on his head, he let out a loud groan.

"Sonic, I know you're in there..."

"I am Amy..." he said, begrudgedly, "I am..."

"Good!" she said, her voice growing happy again, "Now hurry up!"

Well, a promise is a promise... no matter how stupid and on the fly it was. He would take anything, anything, to get out of this. Wether it be a Robotnik attack, the world falling out of axis, or maybe, maybe even, a shortage in Chilli Dogs he needed to solve!

...

...

...

Okay... maybe not that last one...

But still, the offer was there. _Dear Universe_, he pleaded, _please do anything to get me out of this!_

"Shadow, what are you doing here?" Amy voice answered.

_Thank you Universe!_

"I need to talk to Sonic..." he answered lowly.

"Oh no! I have a date!" she said, getting angry.

"The date's cancelled!" he stated forcefully.

The door's handle began to shake, and suddenly, it sprung open. Shadow stood before the blue hedgehog, door knob in hand, with ruby eyes aflame.

"We need to talk." his said, dementedly.

"Oh, now, really?" Sonic said, "And I was so ready for this date too... oh well!" looking behind Shadow to Amy, he said, "Next time, right!?"

The pink hedgehog dashed forward. Before she could tackle him, as she wanted too, she was scooped up by Shadow. It didn't stop her from yelling out many random obscenities.

...

Nitroglycerin. To the touch, it freezes everything. Oh boy, it is evil! And the young fox loved it.

Holding it before him, he shifted his attention to a cannon before him. Placing the container of Nitroglycerin inside the cannon, he pointed it in the direction of an object. A crudely made doll of Dr. Robotnik. With the cannon's sights on the object, the young fox ran off toward a barrier at the end of the room.

Tail's Lab. A virtual mad scientist playground. It wasn't uncommon for him to spend hours, or maybe even _days_, inside working on God knows what. The floor was littered with many random objects and papers, because Tails was a messy kid and he tends to get out of hand with his ideas. Today's idea, a cannon that shot out ice blasts. Why? Well, he got stuck playing Mortal Kombat the other day, and since he already has a harpoon gun, an ice cannon just seemed to be the perfect next step.

Behind the barrier, he grabbed a hold of a button. Shifting a camera toward the cannon and its target, he smiled.

"Ice Cannon test #77!" he stated, "Let's hope it doesn't explode like the last time..."

With a mental countdown, he hovered his finger over the red button before him. And then, he pressed it. The cannon made a shaking noise, before it fired out a singular, concentrated, blast of ice. It slammed into the Dr. Robotnik doll, and exploded into a beautiful puff of blue smoke. Once the mist settled, it revealed to Tails a great sight. The doll had ice crystals hanging from it. The kitsune jogged forward, and pressed it. The doll slid off the stand it was on, fell, and then shattered against the ground like a piece of fragile glass.

Success!

Hopping up and down, he revealed in his success. Ice Cannon Test #77 was better than he could have believed. Sure, he would have to refine the details a bit after this, but for a prototype, it was near perfection. Next, the Force Ball...

A series of knocks gained the young fox's attention. Sliding off his goggles, he made his way out the bungalow he was it. Up the stairs, he saw lights. Someone was inside.

"Tails!" Sonic called, "Tails ya here?"

Hearing his brother's voice, he started flying off. Dashing through the staircase, he made his way up in no time at all. To his surprise, he ran into a girl.

Crashing into Hope, he fell onto the floor with a loud thud. Rubbing his head, he tried his best to stand. Ultimately, he was helped up to his feet by Sonic.

"A bit to fast, eh buddy?" he remarked.

"Who did I run into?"

"Me!" Hope said, from away.

Laying her hand on one of Tails' many desks, she helped herself up. Tails looked her up and down. She looked... different. Especially with that tool belt around her waist.

"Who are you?" he questioned.

"Her name is Hope!" Cream said, running up, "She's Mr. Shadow's friend."

"Mr. Shadow's friend... wait... Shadow's here?"

Sonic pointed toward the corner of the room. He was there alright, arms crossed, body slumped against the wall. He raised his shoulders as a minor answer.

"Did Sonic mention how Shadow's a little date wrecker!?" Amy cried from behind.

"Well, that's nice and all," Tails said, ignoring Amy's bit, "but... why are you here?"

Sonic shrugged, and merely looked at Shadow. Soon, everyone followed suit, and gazed at the enigmatic hedgehog. He kept his eyes away for a few seconds, before glaring back. The first person he looked at was Hope, then to Sonic.

"You're in danger..." he murmured, easily enough.


	9. Battle on Emerald Beach

Battle on Emerald Beach

The wind that rustled through his dreads felt so good.

Eyes closed with his stoic demeanor, he sat before that which he guarded. The Master Emerald shined its usual brilliance, while at the same time giving the echidna something to lay on. He said nothing, and only rested, as today was just another day. No noise came save for that of the passing by wind.

It would be boring had it not been so enjoyable.

Stretching out his arms, he let out a loud yawn. Another day... another day... Standing to his feet next, he began pondering what he should do next. Right now, he'd enjoy a little quest around Mushroom Hill, or probably, through the ruins of Marble Garden. Well, it was his island, he could go anywhere he pleased. A quick glide over here or there was all it took, and he knew all the secret passages, so it shouldn't take _too_ long.

Throwing a few air jabs, he loosened his arms for the upcoming journey. Yeah, it was going to be grand. Then again, he heard Red Mountain was shaking lately...

With one step in front of the other, he started off for the great volcano top. But, he wasn't alone.

The air shifted in style and taste... someone was here with him. Purple eyes darted left and right, as they searched valiantly for the intruder. That's when he saw him. Leaning up against the Master Emerald, arms crossed.

What was this? A nightmare? The being before him looked extremely similar to Shadow. In fact, it looked like Shadow had fused himself with Metal Sonic. The mechanical being was similar in height and stature with Shadow, with the quills in the same way. But it lacked fur, as every inch of its body was mechanical, being silver in color. To add to that, the red streaks that were on Shadow, were blue on this creäture. The white of the eyes were black, just like Metal Sonic, its eyes were ember lights, just like Metal Sonic, and it lacked a mouth, just like Metal Sonic. But it had one thing different from Metal Sonic. Its left arm had been fused with what appeared to be some otherworldly gun. It was flat, but had two-gun barrels sticking out from it.

"What the!?" Knuckles said, surprised by the imposter.

The false Shadow looked at him with its cold merciless eyes. Uncrossing its arms, it started to make its way toward Knuckles. The echidna, feeling threatened, swiftly raised his arms.

"Hey!" he yelled, "Who are you!? And why do you look like Shadow!?"

The, Metal Shadow, must not have been in the mood for talking. Almost immediately, Metal Shadow lifted his gun, and fired. Like a machine gun, the twin barrels of its weapon fired, sending a hailstorm of bullets upon Knuckles' position. Being the ever so quick echidna he was, he leaped out-of-the-way with just enough time not to get rittled. The Metal Shadow wasn't finished though, and it continued to fire, its bullets following its opponent's every move. Knuckles ducked, leaped, juked left and right, all in an attempt to dodge the attack, before coming to a stop behind the Master Emerald Altar.

Knuckles shook his head. He wasn't expecting a fight today. Well, maybe from Rouge, but not from some mechanical version of Shadow. Where the hell did he come from anyway?

Suddenly, he felt a powerful strike streak across his jaw. Knuckles fell back, and landed with a crushing blow to the ground. Shaking his head, he glared up. The being before him, looked just like the Metal Shadow from before. The only difference was the colors of its streaks, and the weapon on its arms. Unlike Metal Shadow, this mechanical clone had green streaks, and a gun on the arm reminiscent of a rocket launcher.

Stepping forward with hands on its hips, it gazed dementedly toward Knuckles.

"Great," the echidna said, getting up, "there's two of them..."

The green Metal Shadow aimed forward its gun, and fired. Just as believed it fired a compact rocket, one that set the ground ablaze once it landed down. Knuckles leaped out-of-the-way in time to spare himself pain though. Once again raising his dukes, he glared to the green Metal Shadow. Like a monster, it stepped through the flames, as if they were nothing. Suddenly, bullets rang out from the first Metal Shadow, sending Knuckles running for cover. The blue Metal Shadow leaped beside its partner, and slowly started walking toward the echidna. Knuckles laid behind a fallen pillar and started to formulate a plan.

"Okay," he said, smiling, "guess its going to be a throw down!"

With extreme speeds, he leaped over his cover. But, when his purple eyes looked left and right, he saw nothing. Where did those Metal Shadow's go? Suddenly a powerful kick crossed his side. Stepping back from the strike, Knuckles shook in pain. Then, this time from behind, he felt another attack jab its way into his spine. Growling in pain, Knuckles countered with an attack, only to hit nothing. Where were they coming from, and where did they go? These androids were fast! He needed to stop them, and quick.

"That's it!" he yelled, "You want a fight! I'll give you a beat down!"

Raising his fist, the echidna delivered an earth shattering punch to the ground. A shockwave traveled through the ground, causing both Metal Shadow's to appear from their quick speeds. Taken off guard by Knuckles attack, they had little time to dodge his oncoming flurry of fists.

The Master Emerald guardian struck the green Metal Shadow first, with a series of powerful punches. By the time the blue Metal Shadow recoiled from the attack, he had little time to dodge Knuckles. Unlike his green counter part, the blue Metal Shadow was struck by an explosive fist to the stomach. The strike was so strong, it sent the blue Metal Shadow flying away. It crashed into a pillar with so much force, it crushed the aged rock structure. The attack was so great, Knuckles was sure his foe was gone. The green one wasn't though.

In a blinding flash of light, the green Metal Shadow grabbed Knuckles in a full nelson. Knuckles looked at him and started to shake wildly in an attempt to break free. His muscles tightening, he was prepared to break free, but a sudden fist to his face stopped him. Knuckles looked forward and saw the blue Metal Shadow from before. It raised its gun, and struck Knuckles against the face. The blow would have surely crushed any normal being, but Knuckles is no normal being.

Shaking wildly, Knuckles lifted the green Metal Shadow off of its feet, turned him around, and threw him into his ally. Both fake robots crashed into the ground with a thud, as the echidna stood triumphant. For now, anyway...

Lifting his fist, he brought it down for another blow of pain. Before his attack could connect though, the two Metal Shadow's vanished. Head spinning around, the echidna searched for his foes, but they were gone. But they weren't, he knew better.

"Where are you!?" he yelled, "Show yourself you cowards!"

They must have heard him.

Almost immediately, the green Metal Shadow appeared. It aimed its rocket toward Knuckles, and fired. As the compact missile flew toward Knuckles he prepared to leap away. But, in the middle of the air, the rocket exploded. A sticky gooey substance flew out, and covered Knuckles from head to toe. His head jerked around, and he started to struggle, but it was all for not. He was stuck.

In a silver flash, the blue Metal Shadow appeared. Raising its gun hand once more, it brought it down with a crushing blow against Knuckles' head. And all that remained was silence.

In the sticky gloop, Knuckles fell back, eyes closed. No more battling.

The Metal Shadow's looked upon him, their robotic eyes scanning his vitals. His heart rate had slowed, but he was alive. Looking away, they shifted their attention to the Master Emerald.

"Good job, Metal Shadows!" a certain voice rang, "That annoying echidna is out! Procure the Master Emerald, and return to the Egg Carrier!"

Both robot's heads bobbed up and down with a nod. Slowly, the green Metal Shadow made its way toward the Master Emerald, the blue Metal Shadow remained behind. Aiming its gun toward Knuckles, it produced a red laser to appear. Instead of silencing the echidna though, it instead freed him from his sticky bonds. As the green Metal Shadow grabbed the Master Emerald from its altar, the blue Metal Shadow grabbed Knuckles. Their eyes moved skyward, and flying above, Dr. Robotnik's massive Egg Carrier. That's when they said their first words.

"Chaos Control..."

And, then they disappeared.

...

Shadow's cold ruby eyes gazed emotionlessly toward everyone else. There was silence in Tails' home as he delivered his cryptic message. As he just waited for their eventual questions, he looked away, eyes into the shadows. Boy... did it give him the creeps...

"What kind of danger?" Cream asked first, as her grip grew over Cheese.

"The kind that entails a certain Dr." he answered.

A loud groan echoed over the group, as they all became annoyed.

"Oh no, not Eggman!" Amy said.

"He just doesn't quit!" Tails said.

"Yeah... not now, not ever..." Sonic answered.

"I can't believe you ruined my date with Sonic over Eggman, Shadow!" Amy cried.

"This is different!" he said, shooting her a glare, so strong she froze up.

"It is," Sonic questioned, "and how?"

"The Dr... he's... different this time..."

"He's always different," Sonic said, walking up, "that doesn't exactly make him dangerous. What is he planning today? Hm? Another harebrained scheme to take over some country to build the Eggman Empire? Or, is there something else?"

"Dr. Robotnik laid a trap." Hope suddenly said.

Everyone's eyes immediately locked to her. Wilting a bit, she gained a blush from embarrassment. She was never the kind of person to talk to a group of others, unless that group happened to be her fellow G.U.N. agents.

"Say," Sonic said, moving to her, "I can't say we've met before... who are you?"

Hope crossed her arms, showing a defensive stance. Nevertheless, she would tell him.

"I'm Hope Kintobor," she answered, "Shadow's... ally, from G.U.N."

"So you're a G.U.N. agent?" Tails said, "Makes sense, since you're with Shadow, but... where's Omega and Rouge?"

"I asked the same thing!" Cream cried, "Where is Miss Rouge and Mr. Omega?"

Once more, their eyes shifted away, this time to Shadow. His face wasn't seen by them, as he was looking away. And of course, Sonic was the first to speak.

"Hey, Shadow," he said, his voice near comforting, "where is Rouge and Omega?"

"Dr. Robotnik kidnapped them," Hope said, "that was the trap he laid out..." they looked to her, "He apparently laid a trap out for you, but... we sprung it, by accident. Dr. Robotnik, he... kidnapped Rouge and Omega aboard the Egg Carrier, and they... went away..."

"Away, where?" Tails asked.

"We don't know," Shadow answered, "that's why we came to you. If the trap was made for you, we were sure he would try to attack you all again. Once he did, we would attack him, and rescue our allies."

"So you're using us as bait?" Amy said, catching on.

"You can say that," Shadow said with raised shoulders, "but I prefer the term, fodder..."

"What did you say!?" she said, withdrawing her coveted hammer.

But Sonic raised his hand. Looking to Shadow, he laid his hands on his hips and said,

"So when do you think old Eggbut will attack?"

"Whenever he pleases," Shadow answered, "which means, soon..."

"Well," Sonic grew a grin, "I've defeated him one hundred times before, one hundred and one more time, can't hurt."

"Let's pray your words hold meaning..." Shadow answered, "C'mon Hope..."

"Wait, where are we going?" She asked.

"The Dr. doesn't know we are here, let's just wait..."

Hope froze up though. Just alone, with him, for a little while. What... what about their kiss? Will he bring it up while they wait, or will he ignore it like he had been doing? She both wanted to know, and didn't want to know. It was eating her up inside.

"Hope," he said, looking at her, "you dazed off again... hurry up..."

Nodding, she stepped forward toward him. But, before they left, she gave a friendly wave toward everyone else. And then, the door shut tight.

Silence...

"I don't like her." Amy said, arms crossed.

"Is it because of the date again?" Sonic questioned with a shaking head.

"No! I just don't like her... she reminds me of Rouge... with those... clothes..."

"How about you Tails? What do you think of Shadow's friend?"

But the fox was in deep thought. Hope... Kintobor... that last name weirded him out. Of course his friends didn't think about it, but he did. Kintobor... Kintobor... he needed some paper...

"Tails?" Cream squeaked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah Cream," he answered, "just give me a second..."

Tails spinning around, he flew off down the hall he came from. Now in his lab, he quickly found himself a piece of paper and pencil. Taking it to the paper, he started writing.

_Hope Kintobor... Kintobor... Kintobor..._

_ K-I-N-T-O-B-O-R..._

His eyes widened. That was weird, the words suddenly became familiar.

_K-I-N-T-O-B-O-R_

He shook his head. No, no, this seemed _way_ too familiar.

_K-I-N-T-O-B-O-R_

He leaned back, and his hands, they started moving on their own.

_Robotnik..._

No, no, no! This had to be a joke? Hope Robotnik? No, he must have spelled the name wrong, there was no way that blonde teen was related to Robotnik. He was jumping to conclusions, he had to be. But... it fit in so well... and now that he paid attention to it... she looked very similar to...

Maria...

"Tails!" Sonic said dashing down, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," he answered, "I was just... checking something out..."

"Well, let's get up there, I'm pretty sure Eggbut will attack soon..."

"I'm coming!"

Dashing up the stairs, Sonic disappeared. But Tails remained, for a little while, at least. Kintobor... Robotnik...

He was going to keep this a secret, for now. Obviously, he was working to hard. This was just his mind playing tricks on him.

...

The crashing waves of Emerald Beach was such a pretty sight. Hope had little choice but to marvel at them. With the red and orange skies above, and the shimmering blue and white crash of waves below, there was little anyone could do but go, 'wow'. But Shadow didn't. Though his ruby eyes were locked onto the oncoming seas, he showed no emotion. Hope hated that. She sat beside him, her arms around her knees, as she pondered what was going on through his mind. She wanted to know, but she was too scared to ask. But she needed to. She needed to know if that kiss happened or not. If it were real, or if it were all in her imagination.

"... Shadow?" she whispered.

"Why?" he asked, though he didn't look at her.

His words were so sudden, she nearly missed them, but the power was all the same. She locked up.

"Hope?" he questioned.

"Why... what?" she asked back.

"Why did you do what you did?" he said, a bit forcefully.

So... the kiss did happen. She felt sick to her stomach. If only she could disappear, like Shadow could do. She would run away, and give herself time to think. Just not now...

But it was now... Now... or never...

"I don't know why." she answered, "Shadow... I... I..."

"It was... just the spur of the moment." he said, his voice a question.

"A what?"

"The spur of the moment... You kissed me because I saved you... Rouge has done it a lot..."

"She... has?"

"Well, never on the lips," he murmured, "always on the cheek... but it was always in thanks..." he looked to her, "that's why you kissed me... as a way of thanks?"

No! That wasn't the reason why she kissed him! She... she... she liked him... maybe even... l-o-v-e-d... him... maybe... She needed to tell him now. Now, or never. This was the prefect time.

"Shadow, I-"

The earth started rumbling. The pebbles and sands on the beach started to shake and shake, up and down. The waves grew in intensity, and started to crash down with great power and rage. Before Hope knew it, she was in Shadow's arms. After a quick leap, they were on the beach's summit, safely away from the crashing waves.

"I think that's my calling card." Shadow said to her.

Ruby eyes locking back to the beach, he dashed off, leaving her alone.

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" Hope yelled, saying the first explicit she can, remember, ever saying.

"I think this is our calling card." Sonic said, smiling behind her, "Hey Tails, can you take Hope back with you back to your lab? I think things about to heat up."

Hope looked around. Amy, Tails, and Cream were behind her.

"Hey!" Hope said, "I can take care of myself!"

"Sure..."

Far out in the ocean, a great mechanical behemoth appeared. It was silver and red, with tinges of colbat in it.

"Emerald Beach!" a certain voice called, "I beckon to you! Prepare to meet my mighteous sea creation yet! The EGGMARINE!"

Why was he being so loud and rambunctious? Of course... he was trying to call out Sonic...

Mechanical flaps on the top half of the Eggmarine opened up. From these flaps, a series of high-flying rockets. All of them, with Eggman's insidious insignia. The rockets flew skyward, before pinpointing their deadly a trajectory onto the defenseless town. Shadow counted each one. 44... a lot, but too little... for him, anyway.

Closing his eyes, he quickly entered his Chaos Boost mood. With a red aura flowing around him Shadow leaped up. He was like a shimmering red star in the sky. Streaking around with the speeds of a thunder bolt, he began striking rocket after rocket after rocket. They exploded in the air with great power, showing it could have easily decimated the small town.

Free falling now, Shadow aimed his way toward another rocket. Throwing forth a Chaos Javelin, it exploded before him. But he didn't predict how close the explosion would be. The force of the blast knocked him away, and he crashed into the ocean below. That mistake could cost lives, he needed to hurry up. Jumping back out of the ocean, he started off for another rocket. But before he could make his way to it, a blue blur dashed by, striking it in midair. The rocket lost its aim, and flew directly into another rocket. Both blew up with a fantastic explosion.

"Learn to aim next time!" Sonic said as he fell through the air.

"Stop being so cocky!" Shadow said.

"Yeah, yeah..."

Spinning back into a ball, the blue hero began dashing around, striking each and every rocket that came his way. Shadow, on the other hand, focused on striking rockets down with his Chaos Spears. Together, they were a team of immeasurable power. The only thing that could stop them, was a force of equal or greater value.

The air was filled with the smoke and debris of destroyed rockets. Using his Air Shoes, Shadow flew through the air, while his hand held onto Sonic's. The Eggmarine had grown so quiet after the attack. That was odd. There had to be something more.

And there was more...

"Hey, Shadow," Sonic said, pointing forward, "do you see that?"

His ruby eyes trained forward. Two silver figures were standing on the Eggmarine's head. What were they?

Before he could assess this new information, the two figures disappeared. In a silver flash, one of them struck both Shadow and Sonic. The force was so great, in knocked the duo back down to Emerald Beach. They crashed into the sands with pain, before returning to their feet at break neck speeds.

"You two must have a death wish!" Robotnik's voice called, "You can defeat me!"

"We've done it before, we'll do it again!" Sonic barked back.

"Keep that cocky attitude, hedgehog!" Dr. Robotnik yelled, "It will be your downfall!"

Two silver streaks appeared on the sands, before stopping in front of Sonic and Shadow. Shadow's eyes widened, while a smirk appeared on Sonic's muzzle.

"Well, looky here," he remarked, "Metal Shadows!" he looked over to his dark counterpart, "Welcome to the family!"

Shadow would have punched him, but he was too intrigued by these figures before him. They looked just like him, from head to two. Instead of black fur, they had silver metallic skin. The streaks on their bodies were different too. One was orange, the other was red. Both of these Metal Shadow's had strange weapons sticking from their arms. The orange one had a wierd futuristic cannon, while the red one had a morphed machine gun of kinds.

"Stupid copies," Shadow said, "I thought the Dr. only had one."

"There's never, _just_ one..." Sonic said, "In my lifetime, I've foughten three, count'em, _three_ Metal Sonics!"

"It doesn't matter, they'll be dismantled soon enough."

"Ooooh! I call the red one! He reminds me of a certain, hedgehog I know..."

Shadow merely scoffed.

Slowly, the hedgehogs took battling positions. The Metal Shadows, however, remained motionless. For a while, the only noise in the air was of the crashing waves, and the stirring winds. Night had come so soon... Shadow hadn't even noticed it.

All around them, Egg Pawns and Gunbots fell, coming from the far off Eggmarine. They'd need to be dealt with... and soon.

"Get away from my town!" Amy yelled.

Though they didn't see her, they heard many mechanical clanks as her hammer struck against them. Good... Amy, Tails, Cream, and Hope would deal with the lower machines. That just left Sonic and Shadow to deal with the Metals. And yet, despite everything, they never moved.

This battle's about to explode!

_FIGHT!_

In a sudden flash, the combatants dashed at one another. Shadow's fist clashed with the fist of the orange Metal Shadow, while Sonic's foot struck up against the red Metal Shadow's gun. With great agility and finesse, the red Metal Shadow countered with its own back kick. The attack threw Sonic back, but didn't do much damage. In fact, it egged him own. Rolling into a ball, Sonic dashed back. His Spin Dash connected, and threw the red Metal Shadow back.

Meanwhile, Shadow was battling his orange counterpart. With each attack he threw, the metal copycat would deflect it. Withdrawing his pistol, Shadow quickly fired. His metal counterpart quickly dodged it via silver streaks. When he reformed, he was behind Shadow. The dark hedgehog quickly threw back a roundhouse kick, but the Metal Shadow blocked the kick. Shadow leaped back, yellow energy in hand, and threw forth a Chaos Spear. It glided through the air, and struck the orange Metal Shadow square in the chest. It knocked the fake hedgehog back, and sent it into the ground with a metal clank.

Sonic's fist clashed against the red Metal Shadow's face. He was so used to fighting robots, punching them did nothing to him. His blow hurt so bad, it sent the red Metal Shadow's eyes dazed. But the robot was quick to recoil. Aiming its gun, it fired a series of bullets upon Sonic. The blue hero leaped back, and started to dodge the bullets with a sort of sonic weave. To explain it, he was moving so fast, the bullets _passed_ through him. The tactic caught the red Metal Shadow off guard. Sonic smirked, dashed forward, and once again spun dashed into the robot's chest. The attack knocked the red Metal Shadow onto its back. Sonic dashed up, rubbed his nose, and said,

"Ya'know, for a clone, you're nowhere as fast as the real thing!"

Oh hell no...

The red Metal Shadow's eyes gleamed, and he dashed forward, boosters erupting from its shoes. It tackled Sonic, lifted him up, and drove him down onto the ground.

Shadow's chop struck against the orange Metal Shadow's gun. When his silver doppelgänger tried to counter, he quickly lifted his foot and struck him in the chest. The orange Metal Shadow stepped back in pain, before grabbing ahold of its own cannon. Pressing a few buttons on it, it started firing out napalm blasts. When they connected with the ground, the sands ignited into flames. Since Shadow couldn't walk through flames, the robot took the time to fire a series of rockets at him. They glided through the fire, pinpointed onto Shadow's position, and exploded. But Shadow was safely in the air by this time, something his orange foe counted on. Leaping up, the orange Metal Shadow spun into a ball, and struck its foe. Shadow felt the pain course up his chest, but he wasn't finished so soon. Grabbing the Metal Shadow by the neck, he took the upper hand. Spinning in the air to gain momentum, he threw his fake into the ground, causing it to uproot great amounts of sand.

"Is that your best!" Shadow taunted, "You're a pathetic excuse for my fake!"

Through the sand, the orange Metal Shadow fired rockets. But Shadow was finished. Using his Chaos Boost mode, he deflected the attack like it was nothing. Instead, he pointed forth his hands, and started firing Chaos Javelins.

A series of explosions rittled the ground as the Chaos Javelins detonated against their foe. Anything under it would have been evaporated, but the Metal Shadow had a trick up its mechanical sleeve.

Once the dust settled, it revealed something awful to Shadow. It stood up from the carnage, with an orange aura around its body.

"So..." Shadow murmured to himself, "They know Chaos Boost too..."

Another explosive amount of energy echoed elsewhere. Shadow looked to it, and locked his eyes onto the red Metal Shadow Sonic was fighting. Its body was surrounded in a red aura.

"Wow!" Sonic said, fists raised, "This is new!"

"Sonic get out of here!" Shadow warned.

"Why would I do that!?" he yelled back.

His eyes looked back to his red foe. The aura around its body began expanding... Uh-oh...

"Chaos... BLAST!" the fake hedgehogs roared.

...

Hope sat in the lab as her eyes gazed around. Boy, this fox kid sure knew his stuff! After all of this was finished, they should trade notes. She stood alone in Tails' lab, after she was forced inside. Her eyes were moving left and right as she took in everything. The fighting outside... she could hear it... She hated it! She just wanted Shadow to come back so they could talk... about everything...

A great earthquake echoed in the ground, followed by a loud sound. What caused that? Oh... she prayed Shadow was okay... Moving around the room, she noticed a piece of paper. All of the papers she saw so far had so much information on it about nonsense. Tails was smart... but... wait, what was this?

Grabbing the paper she read it. On it, her name over and over again... What... was Tails doing? Then she read the last line.

_Hope... Robotnik..._

No! How did he find out! This had to have been some trick! No one knew... no one... Hope... Kintobor... that's her name... But... how did Tails figure it out? He was a genius, that was the only way.

Taking the paper, she tore it up. No one would know, no one...

"Hope?" Shadow's voice called.

"Shadow?" she called back.

Good, they needed to talk. Right now... the battle must have been over.

She heard his footsteps come down the hallway. Sooner or later...

"Shadow?"

He stepped out the hall... but it wasn't Shadow. He looked exactly like him, but there was one grave difference... the streaks that were red on Shadow, were gold on this being.

"Shadow Android..." Hope murmured.

"Ah, you remember me." Android Shadow said, stepping forward, "When was the last we met? Egg City, maybe?"

"What do you want!?"

"The Dr. needs your expertise, Hope." Android Shadow said.

He got closer.

"No! Get away!" she yelled.

"I don't want to hurt you, Hope." Android Shadow said, "So please, come with me..."

"Get away from me!"

He grabbed her.

"That's not an option..."

His grip grew and grew.

"LET GO!" she yelled.

He started glowing.

"Chaos Control..."

He whispered.

In a brilliant flash of light, they vanished.

* * *

_Trivia Time!_

_I swear, I think I'm spoiling my followers and favoriters(?). I think I've been updating like everyday, but... whatever..._

_Any who, the Metal Shadows. In my eyes, Android Shadow, you know, the Shadow clone with golden streaks, in my imagination, he's like the perfect clone. The Metal Shadows, on the other hand, are different in every way. More like Metal Sonic, they are silent and deadly, created only for destruction. The Metal Shadows are those Shadow clones in Shadow the Hedgehog's two player. I used to play it all the time with my sister and cousin..._

_Oh well, that's enough for now, I think I'm going to go eat something..._

_By the by, did you catch the Capcom vs SNK reference? Its super blatant!_

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	10. Fallout

Fallout

The sand, smoke, and dust cleared.

The Chaos Energy surrounding Shadow fizzled away. Being in Chaos Boost mode, he was well protected against the beach destroying Chaos Blasts. But, that didn't take into account his blue counterpart.

Sonic laid on the ground, riving in pain, from the Chaos Blast. One Chaos Blast is enough, two is down right apocalyptic. The red Metal Shadow before Sonic started to power down from the attack, its ember eyes flickering on and off. It used to much power in that attack, and now it was suffering for it.

"Ah, dammit," Sonic said, twitching pain, "next time someone glows red... I need to move..."

"Sonic!" Amy cried.

In a pink flash, she appeared before her idol. He was in so much pain, he could barely move. Wrapping her dainty arms around his body, she cradled him close to her chest. He was... bleeding. Blood was coming off marks on his body, and was beginning to stain Amy's clothing. She didn't care though. Just seeing Sonic in so much pain made her cry.

"Amy, watch out!" Shadow's warning came to late.

A blue streak dashed by. Amy noticed it, but she couldn't do anything about it. A powerful metallic fist clashed against her chin, forcing her to drop Sonic, and sending her away. The blue streak stopped before Sonic, jet boosters ablaze with flame. It was that blue demon...

"Metal Sonic." Sonic grumbled.

The machine trained its eyesight on the now unconscious Amy, before shifting his gaze toward Sonic. He may have been stripped of free will, but the robot always kept his animosity towards his eternal foe.

"Sonic, the, hedgehog..." he murmured with a robotic voice.

"Hey, Metal," Sonic said, smiling, "you can talk again..."

His silver hand clapped around Sonic's neck, and he lifted him up. A spinning, whirling noise echoed over the air. Metal Sonic spun his head around, and saw Shadow dashing toward him. In a spin ball, he struck the metallic hedgehog square in the side. Metal Sonic's grip released on his clone, and he was sent careening into the beach's sand. Shadow landed out of his attack, and quickly took a battling pose. Ruby eyes trained toward the blue doppelgänger, he prepared for a battle. But, wasn't he forgetting something?

The wind around him began to spin, and before Shadow knew it, he was restricted in a full nelson. The orange Metal Shadow from before was holding him down.

"Damn you!" Shadow yelled, "Let go!"

The machine was weak from its release of Chaos Energy, but it could still hold him down. Shadow shook and shook, but he did relatively nothing. Suddenly, Metal Sonic's fist lodged itself into his gut. Shadow reeled from the pain, but stood strong nonetheless. So Metal Sonic continued to punch him. Over and over again. Why was Shadow feeling so weak? He should have easily broke free from their grips. And why... why was that orange Metal Shadow getting stronger? Its grip was tightening itself around Shadow's arms. His eyes widened. That orange Metal Shadow was taking his energy!

But it was too late to act now. Between Metal Sonic's punches, and the orange Metal Shadow's energy taking, he was getting weaker, and weaker by the second. His legs buckled under the pressure, and he fell down. Drool hung from his lips. He was... failing... again...

Eyes closed, voice silent, body still...

He was out...

The orange Metal Shadow dropped Shadow like a pile of rocks. The hedgehog fell to the ground, and made no noises. Metal Sonic glared down at Shadow.

"Shadow the hedgehog, defeated..." a voice said.

Metal Sonic's head turned up. Past the orange Metal Shadow was Sonic. The blue hedgehog must have succumbed from his injuries, because he was out cold too. Not dead though... much to Metal Sonic's ire.

It walked up toward his eternal foe, and glared at his lifeless husk. Every small breath on Sonic's part made Metal Sonic feel moot and pointless. It was time to rectify that mistake.

Raising his steel claw, he prepared to finish his life's mission. Sonic would die, he would triumph. There would be only one, _true_ Sonic.

"Stay away from him!" a voice roared.

Metal Sonic's head turned upwards, noticing Tails. The young kitsune had a cannon his arms. Scanning the insides of the construct, he realized what it was. But it was too late. An icy blast flew from the cannon, and doused Metal Sonic. Before he knew it, he was frozen solid.

"How long will that hold him, Tails?" Cream questioned.

"Not long enough! C'mon!"

Tails whirling around, he dashed forward for his ally. But, he made one deadly mistake.

In and orange and silver streak, the orange Metal Shadow appeared. Tails locked up almost immediately, as his light blue eyes analyzed his new foe. A Metal Shadow... this could be bad...

It aimed its cannon toward Tails, and a destructive aiming sight appeared on the young kitsune.

It fired...

...

Genocide City...

Genocide City...

Genocide... City...

A name like that... it instills the worse fear inside of anyone...

What was Genocide City? Did it even exist? Or was it just a name some psychopath gives his imaginary base.

Oh, it was real... Genocide City was real.

A place where Dr. Robotnik's real horrors take shape. Where his designs creates the worse kind of fear.

Android Shadow grip one Hope released. The flash she traveled in was gone, and now she was here, in some cold room.

She wanted to scream, of course, but she remained silent. Blue eyes looking skyward, she saw nothing but darkness. The air in this room was so cold and so sinister. Where was she? No... No... she was gone... where did Android Shadow take her?

She stood up, and glared around. It was so dark... she still couldn't see anything... Light, that was all she needed... light...

"Are you okay?" a cold indifferent voice called.

It was Shadow's, but she knew better.

Spinning around with a slap, she struck a warm, furry surface. The lights came on.

Standing before her, his face turned from the strike, was the being responsible for her being here. Android Shadow turned back and faced her, as his hand rubbed the area he was stricken at.

"Nice hand..." he murmured.

"Where am I!?" she yelled, fear and anger filling her voice.

The android's ruby eyes moved up, down, and then left, to right.

"Genocide City." the clone said, easily enough.

"Genocide... what?" the mechanic answered fearfully.

"Genocide City!" a charismatic, evil voice called.

Hope forgot, with the lights on, she could see around her. This area was filled to the teeth with weird, failed designs of multiple kinds. What was all of this? They filled the airways with its deadly and sharp designs. What was this horrific place?

Heavy footsteps walked down a hall. Hope looked to it, as the being came closer and closer. Through the shadow's of the halls, the first thing she noticed about him was his pronounced mustache.

Dr. Eggman, or, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, as he's known to G.U.N., stepped out from the hall, a smile on his face. His eyes looking to Android Shadow, he said with a smile,

"Oh, thank you Android! You've performed just so perfectly! You can leave us now."

With a nod, Android Shadow turned to Hope. Ruby eyes shining, he dashed away at sonic speeds. Now, she was just alone. Here she was, Hope Kintobor, with her Uncle, Dr. Robotnik.

"Hello, my dear _niece_." And he knew.

Hope locked up. Glaring at this man who called her niece, she didn't know what to do. He started walking forward, to which, Hope fell back. Now crawling away, she felt so scared and so terrified. Strange... just a few days ago, she wanted to talk with him.

"What's wrong Hope," the Dr. said, "don't want to talk with your dear old Uncle?"

Their had to be a weapon somewhere around here! Wait a second... her pistol!

Hand dropping to her belt, she withdrew the tool she had now begun to covet. Its iron sights floated dangerously toward the evil Dr., and caused him to stop.

"Stay back!" she ordered, "Or I'll shoot!"

But Eggman wasn't deterred. He looked at Hope, chuckled, and then knelt.

"Put the gun away dear," he said, "you don't want to hurt yourself."

She pulled back the hammer on the gun, showing she ment business.

"I'll shoot!" she threatened.

But the Doctor wasn't scared. Head turning upwards, he laughed his usual sadistic laugh.

"Hope, I'm not going to hurt you," he assured, "now please, put away the gun..."

His long gloved arm stretched over. Palm open, he motioned to her to give him her gun. She staid firm for a while, but ultimately... she relented. Thumb pressing on the safety, she handed her Uncle the pistol she had brought.

"That's a good girl..." the Dr. said.

With the gun now in his possession, he placed it into his jacket. Next, his hand once again came to her, this time motioning for her to grab it.

"I assume you have a lot of questions," he said, her blue eyes looking to him, "I have a lot of answers..."

Her body was shaking. She needed to talk... they needed to talk. Hand stretching forward, she grabbed onto his. As she did this, her blue eyes looked forward. Robotnik was giving the most evil smile. But what would she do? She was in his base. So... it was either now... or never...

"Why?" she questioned.

"Why?" he answered back.

"Why!? Why all of this!?" her voice had become so much more forceful.

"Oh! Why my master plan!" he said.

"No!" she answered, "Why!?... Why?..." she grew scared. She needed to ask him... why... "Who... is... Mephiles?"

The Dr. froze up. Blue eyes looking to his niece, he shook his head. His face went from so evil to so hurt at such quick speeds.

"So..." he whispered, "Mephiles found you..."

So he did know.

Hope reached forward, and grabbed him around his coat's collars. Her face was now so angry, sad, and scared at the same time.

"You released that monster upon me!?" she yelled, "He's not just a nightmare!?"

"I didn't!" Dr. Robotnik claimed, "I swear to you Hope, I didn't!"

His gloved hands moved to her dainty ones, and he moved them away from his collar.

"Listen to me, Hope... I would never harm a fellow Robotnik. There are just some boundaries not even I would cross."

She looked away. Was he telling the truth, or not... she didn't know. But, as she looked at his face, she felt like some truth was in his eyes.

"What happened?" she questioned.

"It started not to long ago... last month, I might say," he started leading her down the hall he entered through, "I had learned about some secret projects the Kingdom of Soleanna had in a hidden underwater base." the hall got dark, "More specifically, I heard about a plan to create their god Solaris!" a light appeared, "At first, I was ecstatic! A plan to create a monster with the power over time and space!? It was too good to be true! Finally, I would be rid of that annoying blue hedgehog and his stupid friends!" they got closer to the light, "So, I located the base. Unfortunately, it was completely filled with water, meaning most of the plans were destroyed, but I pressed on. When I got to that base, I had to scavenge as much information as I could find."

They broke free from the dark hall and came to a massive command center. Consoles littered the walls, as screens hung high in the sky, showing many different images. A great computer console of unknown power lied in the middle as well. Hope wondered...

"Impressed?" the Dr. asked.

"You... have a lot of time on your hands... Robotnik."

"Please," he said, "call me Uncle..."

Looking to her face, she gave him a dull expression. That wasn't going to happen...

"Well, let me continue..." he murmured, "In this underwater base I was able to copy many of its creations, including its plan creating Solaris. It took a while, but I finally completed it. I left Egg Carrier over at Soleanna, as I came to my main base over here, in Genocide City."

"But..." Hope interrupted, "Shadow said it was a trap you laid for Sonic."

"Everything I make is a trap for Sonic," he said smirking, "Now then... I recreated the Solaris machine here, and cleaned up many of the errors the original had. So, when it came time to test it, I was so ecstatic! But... something happened. Pressing the switch, I quickly brought to life a creäture. But it wasn't the one I wanted."

"Mephiles..." Hope murmured.

"Exactly... it was a dark puddle, but it had so much power. It was able to destroy many of my creations, as if they were nothing! I tried to detain it, but it ultimately escaped, where it must have found you..."

"Why me though!" she cried, "What did I do to that... Mephiles thing?"

"I don't know..." Robotnik answered.

Hope leaned back on a console. She felt so weak. Ever since that Mephiles thing appeared, she had felt as if the shadows were watching her. Every moment had become so dreadful. As if... something was... looking over her every move...

"But there is a way to stop him." Dr. Robotnik said.

She looked up to him.

"R-Really?"

"Yes," he said, smirking, "my latest, greatest creation! I've designed it to bring back Mephiles and hopefully send him back from which he came! But... I hit a little snag..."

"What snag?"

"The design was one of the Solaris projects more devious plans. It was to much for them to handle, so they of course, abandoned it. I, being the genius I am, however, was able to finish their project! For the most part, anyway. I need help, Hope. The creation is just to much for one genius alone to handle..."

Hope's face grew apprehensive.

"That's why you... kidnapped me? You needed my help?"

"I knew you'd never come willingly, so I needed to get you here by any means necessary..."

She looked away.

"Mephiles is evil Hope... much more evil than I am. He wants the complete eradication of all life on Earth. So please," he brought her attention to him, "we must hurry..."

His face looked so sincere. Was he telling the truth, or was he lying? She... didn't know. She wanted to believe him, she was his niece, after all. But, can you really believe an evil genius such as himself?

"Don't you want to destroy the world?" she countered.

"Really? Heavens no!" he claimed, his voice sounding insulted, "I want to rule the world! Not destroy it!"

Well... that makes sense...

"But, where is Rouge and Omega, and everyone else who was on board the Egg Carrier? Where are you holding them!?"

"Me?" the Dr. said, "I'm not holding them anywhere! The Egg Carrier disappeared on its way back to me... I'm pretty sure Mephiles had something to do with it."

No... that couldn't be possible... they couldn't be... dead...

Hope sat back on the console and closed her eye shut. No... Rouge, Omega, and everyone else were fine... she knew it...

"Hope, I don't know whats happened to them, but I do know what will happen to the world if we don't stop Mephiles," she gazed up, "we need to finish my project, and get rid of them once and for all..."

She didn't know if she could trust him or not. He's evil, but... he's still human. And let's be honest, Dr. Robotnik hasn't always been the most competent of people. Not even he could come up with a lie this detailed... could he?

"I... I need to sleep on this..." Hope whispered.

"I understand, Egg Pawns!" a group of the robots ran up, "Please, bring Hope to a room. A good one, might I add..."

The pawns nodded, before shifting their attention to the teenage mechanic. Grabbing her hand, they started off down the hall.

"Take care, my niece!" Dr. Robotnik yelled as she left.

Once the door in the room closed shut, he grew silent. Prodding his fingers, he made his way to his command chair. As he sat on it, he brought up an image of the Egg Carrier on the screen directly in front of him.

"Good lie, Dr." Android Shadow said, stepping forward.

"We need to finish the project quickly..." Dr. Robotnik murmured, "She's smart... she'll figure something out..."

"Then what do we do, Doctor?"

"Wait for Mephiles' part, Android Shadow... once he sends in the G.U.N. data, we'll be ready to finish our little project..." he gained a devilish grin, "Oh, it will be grand!"

...

His ruby eyes opened slowly. The sun... it laid upon him... where was he?

He wasn't on Emerald Beach, and he was... in a bed. Places on his body were wrapped in coils, healing the injuries he had from the day before. The room he laid in, it was nice and small, with a vanity mirror not to long away. The rugs were a clean pink, and their was images of Sonic everywhere. Wait... what happened!? Where was he!?

"WHERE AM I!?" he yelled at first.

Tearing off the blankets on his body, he leaped off the bed he laid in. He was angry, and yet, he knew not why.

"Hope!" he yelled, "HOPE!"

He got no answer.

"HOPE!"

He was getting angry. That's bad. When Shadow get's angry, people die...

He started to flash red. Why was he so mad so quickly? He usually kept such a level head in these situations. But... he was mad, for reasons he could specify. Fingers tightening, he was prepared to give anyone a solid butt whooping.

"HOPE!" he yelled out one more time.

"Shut up!" a voice answered from beyond the door.

It flew open suddenly, and revealed an angry Amy. She two had coils wrapped around her body, probably from the terrible punch she received. Looking at Shadow she stepped back.

"Could you... please turn down the red show?"

Looking at himself, Shadow nodded. Slowly, the red aura around his body died off.

"What happened?" he questioned, "Where's Hope?"

Amy shook her head.

"I'm sorry Shadow... we... lost..."

That word sent him over the edge. Raising his hands, he slammed them into the ground, causing a shockwave to travel underneath. Amy wilted at his act of rage, but understood why.

"Not again!" he yelled out.

"Shadow... I..."

"I warned you!" he interrupted, "I warned you all! And you didn't listen!... Wait... where's Sonic?"

Amy looked away. Shadow... didn't like that gesture.

"Sonic was kidnapped... from what Cream said. She was the only one not injured in the battle in any way. Tails tried to save Sonic, but was... hurt... its... bad... after Tails, the Metal Shadows took Sonic with them to the Eggman..."

Shadow couldn't believe it. He had failed, _again_. He warned them, and still... they were defeated. Metal Shadows or not, he should have been prepared for Dr. Robotnik. Hell, that was the whole point of coming to Sonic. To sneak to Dr. Robotnik, and to save Rouge and Omega... but nope, not only did he mess that up... he got Hope taken away.

This week had been nothing but a great big disappointment. Over and over again, he was failing... When was it going to end? Eyes closing, he started to quake. What did he do now? He had no way of locating Dr. Robotnik now, and knowing that madman, he could be anywhere. But he wouldn't give up... not now... not ever...

"Shadow?" Amy questioned, "Are you okay?"

He nodded. This mission... this was his.

"Thank you... for taking care of me..." he whispered, tearing off the coils.

"It was... really Cream who did all of the work," she said, shifting the praise, "I was just as out as you were..."

He stepped past Amy, and exited the room. Walking down Amy's walls (which had a huge amount of Sonic worship by the way), he finally came to her front door.

"Wait," Amy said, grabbing a hold of his arm, "where are you going?"

"I'm going to stop Dr. Robotnik... and save everyone!"

"But Shadow, we should wait, at least until Tails gets better! We can attack Dr. Eggman together."

"No," he said, "my failure, my problem... last time I brought someone with me on my mission, they were kidnapped."

Somehow... she knew he was referring to Hope.

"But... it could be different now..."

"It's never different..."

His hand fell onto Amy's doorknob. She stopped trying to fight him. She understood.

"Wait..." a weak voice called from behind.

They turned around. Struggling toward them, with coils all around him like a mummy, was Tails. In his hand, a certain red jewel. It was a Chaos Emerald.

"You'll need this..." he said, his voice haggard.

He placed it firmly in Shadow's hand, before falling back in Amy's arms.

"Tails," she said, "you shouldn't be up, you're too weak..."

Her words fell on deaf ears, as he had already fainted by the time she said them.

Holding the Chaos Emerald, Shadow felt an increase of power. It was time he finished this. Opening the door, he slowly turned back to Amy.

"I'll be back," he said, "and then you'll get to go on that date with Sonic... I promise..."

Amy meant to answer him, but he was already gone by the time she looked up.

"I better..." she murmured.

* * *

_Trivia Time!_

_Oh man... at first this was supposed to be a rare thing, but I think I've gotten addicted to it a bit._

_Any who, allow me to show you the various things you may or may not have noticed._

_First of Genocide City! Yeah, you know what Genocide City, don't you? Well, for those who don't know, Genocide City is a beta stage from Sonic 2, like Hidden Palace Zone or Dust Hill Zone. No one knows what Genocide City was about, but there are a lot of Sonic 2 hacks that makes the stage playable and complete. I'll probably get into describing Genocide City in upcoming chapters._

_Next thing, Dr. Robotnik's full name. In this story, he's called Eggman by Sonic and friends, while Everyone else calls him by his real name Eggman. Dr. Ivo Robotnik is Dr. Eggman's real name though, no I didn't pull that out of my ass. I can't remember what Sonic game said it, but the booklet claims Dr. Robotnik's full name is Ivo Robotnik. Awesome, huh?_

_Ugh, another day, another chapter... I pray you all are enjoying this! As much as I love to write, and believe me, I love to write, it makes me happier to know someone out there is enjoying this story more than I am._

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	11. Snake Eyes

Snake Eyes

Shadow's foot crashed against the wooden shack.

It was cold... Damn cold... the kind of cold that happened in the center of December, when blizzards are beating down your door.

With each breath he took, he glared down to the white puff of air that followed. Red Chaos Emerald in hand, he raised it up high to view the surrounding area. It was so old and dusty looking, showing it hadn't been used in quite some time. Ruby eyes dancing to his side, he found a switch with its own little dust trail. Fingers dragging across it, he gave life to the old abandoned hut. The light made a certain dimming sound, before flickering on with familiar noise. Shadow nodded.

Where was he? One might ask?

He glared up to a scarf that lied on a coat rack. Gloved hand dragging against it, he caused a bit of dust to fly through the air. He had been here before, long ago.

The hut was so small, he could easily walk from one side to the other in a matter of seconds. An old, dusty bed lied in the up left corner, while a squeaky window lied above it. Boxes filled with various items littered the floor, showing someone had been stocking up. On what though?

Shadow walked through the box laidened floor, before coming to a wardrobe on the other end. The windows of said wardrobe were tented, blocking view off from all those that wished admittance. Shadow's hand dropped to the side, and withdrew a pair of keys. The keys found its way to the wardrobe's lock, and he opened it up.

Weapons... that's what they were.

One, a bazooka. But not any bazooka. It was created on the Ark, by his father, Gerald. A weapon that didn't kill, but rather healed. The Heal Gun... Maria loved it...

Second, a small thing that could easily fit into ones palm. Shaped like a 'C', it was known as the Satellite gun. A weapon created by the Black Arms, with the ability to summon lasers from the sky. Where do the lasers come from, no one knows.

Beside that, a weird-looking weapon. Created by Dr. Robotnik, the Egg Vacuum could suck in any thing. Honestly though, Shadow wasn't sure where the heck they went. A weapon this powerful was too great for the Dr. to have.

After that, the Omochao Gun. This weapon is a pure mystery to Shadow. Just like every other weapon, he gained this one during the Black Arms invasion. But where it came from, still remains to be discovered. It's just as mysterious as Omochao himself. Who made that little guy?

Up Next, the Samurai Sword. If evil could be associated with a weapon, it would be that one weapon. This blade... was pure evil. Whenever Shadow touched it, he was filled with thoughts of taking over the world. Only Shadow knew the origins of this blade, and he was unwilling to share it with anyone.

Last, but not least... the Shadow Rifle. Black, white, red... it was designed for one reason and one reason only. Created by G.U.N., its one and only mission was to kill its current owner. It was a gift, upon his invitation to G.U.N. The Commander, despite all of his hatred, finally found Shadow to be an ally, once he handed away this powerful weapon. A sign of trust, if you will.

Shadow picked it up. The Shadow Rifle was so strong, so destructive... so necessary. Lifting the weapon, Shadow held it with both hands. The cold beast resonated even through his gloves. He didn't want to use it, not now, not ever. But... he was so damn angry... The Doctor... he had gone to far this time. First Rouge and Omega, now Hope? No... No more...

He stepped out of the shack, and closed the door behind him. Footsteps crunched against the icy white snow. Eyes gazing up, he witness the aura borealis. Hm...

Holoska looked so pretty this time of year.

Without saying anything, he vanished.

...

Hope hugged close her knees...

Genocide City was such a horrible looking place.

It was visible through the closed window, each buildings, each structure. Smoke rose almost continuously, and blackened out the skies. The city looked like an oil field and an electrical plant made a twisted baby. Add smoke stacks with irregular designs to every rooftop, and lights that barely gave life to lifeless streets, and you have Genocide City.

Scarier still, was the storms. The clouds in this horrible place wasn't natural, but it rained almost endlessly. Lightning resonated far off in the distance, and sent shock waves of fear each time they struck. Why would her Uncle live in such a place? But, she knew better. This was his horrid design.

How long would she stay here? It felt like... days... but, no... it wasn't days... or maybe it had been, for all she knew. Since the skies never left its dark atmosphere, it was hard to tell. If it had been days, then she hadn't been washing herself. She had kept on the same clothes since she was taken, something she would never do at home. Of course, what else did she have to wear? Her Uncle had never taken care of a young girl such as herself, before. So...

A noise caught her attention. Door opening, she saw gold stripes, on black fur. Android Shadow...

"Hope?" he called, his voice sounding so much like his.

"What do you want?" she murmured, gazing away.

"You haven't come out," he said, sounding partially concerned, "the Dr. was worrying about you..."

Was that the truth or not... she didn't know...

"So?" she whispered spitefully back.

"Don't say that," he said, coming closer, "we really need your help..."

"You could've asked," she said, "instead of kidnapping me..."

"My brother-"

"HE'S NOT YOUR BROTHER!" she roared at him, her eyes shooting over.

The Android crossed his arms, and gave an annoyed expression. Hope hadn't noticed before, but... clothing lied in his hands.

"Yes... well... _Shadow_," he said it so hatefully, "wouldn't have let you come willingly, now would he?"

"You don't know that," Hope said, "maybe if you didn't kidnap our friends, he would have... Unlike everyone else... Shadow may actually have a shred of respect for Robotnik..."

"I find that hard to believe..." the clone muttered, "Here, the Dr. feels he has given you enough time to think."

Hands stretching forward, he handed forth a long red, white, and yellow coat. Black Boots lied on the clothing as well. Hope groaned. This clothing was so similar to her Uncle's, only smaller to fit her petite frame. Would she really wear this? Not in a life time...

"I recommend you put it on," Android Shadow said, "you've been sitting in here for three days straight... you need a change of clothing..."

Hope looked down to herself. Sweat stains were visible... how hot did this room get? For now... she'd have to do it. Taking the clothing, she laid it on the bed she sat on.

"Get out," she said, "I have to change..."

The android nodded, before granting her privacy. Hope let out a sigh, and stood from her bed. Sliding off the blue top she had own, she glared down to the coat her Uncle had given her. Was she really going to help him in his plight against Mephiles? Could he be trusted? Ever? Shadow had trusted him once, in fact, Shadow had trusted him a plethora of times. She remembered hearing a tale in which he teamed up with Metal Sonic to fight some being known as Ifirit... hm... maybe she should listen more to his stories...

Picking up the coat, she marveled at how well designed it was. For something made by a madman, it was really well detailed. Each stitch was tightly packed, which kept warmth in, and let cold out. Hope lifted up the jacket, but then gazed down to her bra. She had been wearing it, unknowingly, for three days now... would she really wear it a little longer. Gazing beyond the jacket though, she found another bra. Stranger still, the bra was the same size as the one she was wearing now. Did her Uncle know her bra size? It was a thought she didn't want floating around in her head.

New bra now on, she slid on the white shirt that naturally lied under the jacket. She needed to think really hard on what she needed to do. Help her Uncle, and by process, help herself? Or, don't help her Uncle, and be tormented by the Mephiles being forever? What was Mephiles anyway? Why did it specifically come after her? She had done nothing to the demonic monster, so why?

The jacket felt so snug against her bare skin. Could Dr. Robotnik be trusted? He was evil... very evil... Many times he's tried to take over the world. Some extremely stupid, others extremely competent. She once heard how he nearly took over a small planet that floated in the skies. Sure, it sounds far off, but the planet housed seven stones with the ability to control time. Could you imagine it? Dr. Robotnik, the evil mastermind, with the ability to control time? He was defeated, fortunately enough, by a certain blue hedgehog. But... this time was different. For once, her Uncle was trying to get rid of an evil he unwillingly created, right? This wasn't going to be some, sudden reversal, right? Besides, she was family... she was a... Robotnik, just like him... He wouldn't go back on his word to a fellow Robotnik, right?

Panty hose slid up her legs next. But the Dr. was evil. He would do anything to kill Sonic, and build his Eggman empire. That was his claim to fame, after all. But this was a bigger threat. When the Black Arms struck, he sided with G.U.N., because they were a huge threat. Mephiles is a big threat too, right? For now, world domination would have to wait, he had to stop this new evil. It would kill everyone, right? Right?

A skirt? Really? Did Dr. Robotnik think she was twelve? Regardless... that was buckled on too. She was going to help her Uncle... she had to... His newest machine, would get rid of Mephiles. He would be dead, and she would return to G.U.N. Return to Home. Return to... Shadow... Yes... and then she would tell him... how she felt about him...

This little venture was enough for one life time.

Lastly, was her shoes. Would she opt for her Uncle's black boots, the ones he had given her? Or would he put on the tennis shoes she had been wearing since she left G.U.N.? She liked her shoes... her tennis shoes... the ones with the little thunderbolt on the back. Yes... she would wear them... not those boots. She needed to keep a bit of her old clothing on.

She wished she had a mirror. Standing up tall, she glared down to the clothing she wore now. Red jacket, black pantyhose, red skirt, white undershirt... she was like Dr. Robotnik's little spawn. Her tongue stuck out at the thought. She never wanted those words to run through her mind ever, again.

The door slid open as she made her way to it. Leaning on the wall beside it, arms crossed, was the clone of her beloved. Android Shadow gazed up, ruby eyes shining, and smirked.

"You look kinda cute." he commented, causing her to blush.

Just hearing those words come from Shadow's mouth made her mind melt. But, this wasn't Shadow, she had to remember that. Straightening herself up, her blush faded.

"Let's just go..." she demanded, causing the clone to chuckle.

"As you wish, Miss Robotnik."

_Miss Robotnik?_ Did she really just hear him say that?

She opened her mouth to speak, but he was already walking down the hall.

"What did you call me!?" she yelled, regardless.

As he disappeared through the halls entrance, she gave chase.

...

How long had his soldiers been away? It felt like a week... in fact, it was a week... or maybe it wasn't...

Aged, green and brown eyes glared down to papers before him. His gloved fingers opened and closed, as the air in the room become very uncomfortable. The only light came from the lamp on his desk, and the only noise came from the gentle humming of the air conditioner.

Picking up his hand, he dragged it through his grey hairs. Spagonia was having problems, last he heard... maybe he should send a group over there to check things out. Then again, he heard of a terrorist plight in southern Chun-An... maybe he should do something about that. And that doesn't even begin to cover the thousands of other things going on in the United Federation... Sometimes, being G.U.N. Commander is hard.

Wait... something felt off...

His eyes trekked up and down the room. Why did he feel like he was being watched? Being as old as he was, he learned to pick up on these things. His hand fell to the side of the desk, and began prodding the entrance to a slot. Sliding it open, he revealed the pistol that lied within. He withdrew it quickly, and held it to his side. Green and brown eyes looking left and right, he got up from the desk before him, and trekked over to the exit door. It slid open without hesitation, and revealed to him a darkened hallway. That was odd. The hallways of the G.U.N. base was on, 24/7... no exceptions. So... what the hell were they doing off?

He started walking off down the dark hall, as he kept his gun close. Where were his agents? The halls were literally lifeless, save for him. That wasn't right... At all times, there was an agent on staff. _All... Times... No exceptions._

Either his agent's were playing a joke on him, or something was about to go wrong real quickly. And his agent's _never_ play jokes on him.

He heard a quick footstep. It wasn't his own. Turning around, he kept his gun trained on the noise. To his surprise, he saw _Hope_. She was standing before him, with this... _sadistic_ gaze. What was going on?

"Hope," he said, gazing at her, "are you okay?"

"I apologize, Commander." she said, her voice sounded so... adult, "Did I wake you?"

He shook his head, and his gun fell.

"What's going on around here, Hope?" he questioned, "Why are all the lights off."

He was so distrustful of Hope right now. His eyes never wavered from her frame.

"Hmm, maybe someone forgot to pay the light bill..." she joked.

Her hands fell behind her back, and she started walking off down the dark halls. The Commander never lifted his sights from her though, and as she walked away, he kept his gaze strong. A low hum was leaving her lips. It sounded so low and ominous at the same time. Both... haunting and daunting... so... demonic and sadistic... it was like Satan himself had designed the horrifying tune Hope was humming.

"I love him," she whispered suddenly, as if they were having a talk, "is that so wrong?"

"What are you talking about Hope?" The Commander inquired, "What's going on?"

"Shadow," she whispered so lowly, "I love him... isn't that odd?"

"What?"

"Me, a human, in love with him, a mobian, a hedgehog... isn't that insane? Isn't that just, maddening!?"

She started laughing. She laughed and laughed and laughed, and her voice changed and changed and changed. It shifted from that adult tone she had, to a more manly, more devilish voice. So quickly, her voice changed from innocent and teenaged, to murderous and grown. The Commander didn't like this. Shooting forth his gun, he trained it down on the adolescent before her.

"Who are you!?"

"Senility is crazy, isn't it?" Hope answered, "How old are you!?"

She looked back to him. Her usual blue eyes, were green and snake like. What was this monster before him?

His grip on his gun grew, and the fingers around the trigger began to squeeze.

"You've been so much help, Commander," Hope said, moving to him, "But your usefulness has ended."

"This is your last warning, who are you!?"

"Call me Solaris, call me Iblis... but I go by, Mephiles..."

"Solaris?"

Mephiles began to laugh his sadistic laugh again. Wether he looked like Hope our not, it didn't matter. The Commander pulled the trigger on the gun. But nothing happened.

His started to choke... why was he beginning to choke? All around him, he heard small, boy like chortles. He could move, albeit barely. It was like every muscle in his body was freezing up and locking. The darkness, oh the darkness, it was growing and growing. He felt like the shadows themselves were holding him back, locking him in place. Mephiles, or Hope, or Solaris, or whatever the hell was before him, kept laughing and laughing. It was so sadistic. He wanted to pull that trigger, he wanted to put a bullet in the thing's head, but he couldn't. His heart was racing, a light from the hall grew blinding. He fell back, hand on chest, as he started to tense and spasm.

He was having a heart attack...

...

Yes, ah Yes!

Oh yes, yes, yes, yes!

Information, brilliant information, it beamed onto his screen endlessly. Everything he couldn't find in that submerged base, was coming to his computer right now. Mephiles was such a wonderful buddy! Giving him all the info he needed. G.U.N. knew more than they were willing to tell. They knew all about the failed Solaris project, and the information within. How trustworthy were they?

Just a change here, and a modification here, and the project would be complete! Now... all that was needed was her...

"Dr." Android Shadow said, stepping into the command center.

"Yes, Android?" he said, closing his computer quickly.

"Miss Robotnik has made her decision."

The Dr. pulled together and began prodding his fingers.

"Good! Excellent! Bring her in!"

The android slowly nodded, and stepped back, revealing the teenage girl he had taken captive. She walked in, slightly embarrassed, as her eyes kept trained on the ground. Dr. Robotnik on the other hand was filled with happiness at seeing his niece dressed in garbs similarly to his own.

"Hope, my dear," he said, holding back his enthusiasm, "have you made up your mind."

Crossing her arms she closed her eyes. She couldn't believe she was going to do this. It felt so wierd, she felt so wierd.

"Okay," she said, uncrossing her arms, "Dr. Robotnik..."

"Nuh, uh uh," he said, wagging his finger, "Call me Uncle Ivo."

Her blue eyes shot forward, and he gave him a glare. Still, he was undeterred in his motion.

"Hope." he teased.

"Okay... _Uncle Ivo_... I'm... going to... help you..."

"You will!?" he said, smiling.

Almost immediately, he leaped from his chair, and ran over to Hope. For a fat man, he was fast.

"Oh, I'm so happy, Hope!" he exclaimed, hugging her close, "You don't know how I feel!"

"Uh... Uncle..."

"Together! We can accomplish anything!"

"Not so fast!" she yelled, breaking free of his grip, "We are only going to build this machine to trap Mephiles, nothing more, nothing less! I'm not going to help you with any evil plan you have!"

He stepped back from her words. Taking a pose reminiscent of a vow, he said,

"I promise I won't use you for anything other than trapping Mephiles..."

Hope's arms crossed over one another.

"You better..." she murmured, "And you're going to help find Rouge and Omega!"

"You drive a hard bargain," he said, "but I promise that too, anything to get rid of that abomination."

"Good..." the mechanic remarked.

Slowly, her hand drifted into her coat. When it pulled back out, it was clamped onto her trusty tool, the wrench.

"Let's get a move on then." she added.

"Oh! Two Robotnik geniuses! I can't wait!" Ivo announced.

His arm fell along her shoulders. She gazed up at the slight motion, and looked at his smiling face. Had he not been a evil madman, she may have found that smile loving. But, now was not the time to dwell on such thoughts. With him leading the way, the two Robotniks exited the room.

Android Shadow's ruby eyes watched Hope and Eggman leave. A smile came to face, as the two geniuses disappeared from sight. Now... on to more pressing matters.

He turned down an opposite hall, and started walking. The windows in this technological palace showed the far off sights of Genocide City. Such a _beautiful _place. His sights changed, before returning to the same reclusive halls that always lined the evil palace. Finally, he came to an elevator. Stepping into the machine, he pressed the button labeled, 'Holding House', and rode it all the way down. The simple whirring of the elevator against the walls were so calming to his nerves. But it came to a stop so quickly.

The doors slid open, and revealed to the clone another hall. This hall was so dark compared to the other ones, and was only lit up by the lights on the side. Android Shadow began strolling down the hall, before he came to a specific door. His hand fell onto the doors keypad, and he tapped a quick number squence. The door slid open...

The air was so cold to breathe. She felt her wings falter, and twitch, as they lacked the heat to keep moving. Her usual sultry face looked so pitiful as of now, as her arms were held up by chains and feet held down by clamps. The elevated platform she stood on had lights on it, that constantly blasted in her face, and kept her awake. She was so weak right now... she could barely move... and she was tired... oh, so, tired...

"Good evening Rouge," Android Shadow said, stepping forward, "how are you today?"

So quickly her face changed into this angry visage. Showing fangs, the usual sultry bat, lunged at him. Of course, she was held back by the chains on her arms.

"Damn you Android!" she barked.

"Uh, uh, uh!" his hand grabbed a hold of Rouge's chin, "Let's not be so hasty here!" he turned away, "I came all this way to visit you, and you hold such a grudge!"

"Android! Let me go!"

"I can't do that, Rouge, dear," he answered, tightening his gloves, "that would go against my creator."

"Then, why are you here!?" she barked.

"Just to talk," he answered, looking back, "If I know anything about prisoners, they tend to go insane when they aren't around with anyone."

"So, I'm just supposed to believe this is a gesture of good will, huh?"

"Of course, my dear," he got closer, "if it were up to my creators will, you'd be down here, alone."

"I hate you..." she whispered.

"Hate... hate is such a powerful word... but they often belie feelings of love, don't they?"

Once again, she lurched forward, but it was all for not. Being chained up was the pits.

"Now, let's talk." he said, his voice sounding prodding like.

Rouge sat back, and gave a near defeated look. And Android Shadow, he went on and went. He was nuts...

* * *

_Trivia Time... yeah..._

_Again... I'm getting sick and tired of spilling my guts here..._

_Any who, I'm up late, writing this story, and I'm having the time of my life. You know when you have to research your subjects so you get things right?_

_Oh, that's right, you want pointless information... oh my..._

_Throughout this chapter, I've been trying to make as many references to past Sonic games as possible. There are many references to Shadow the hedgehog, such as the weapons Shadow keeps in that hut. If you don't know, well... you're late... those weapons are the secret weapons you get for completing each story twice. Later on, Hope references how Eggman helped G.U.N. fight the Black Arms._

_Another reference is how Shadow shows trust to Eggman. Hope mentions how Shadow and Metal Sonic fought some being known as Ifirit. That is a reference to Sonic Rivals 2. Admittedly, I've never played Sonic Rivals 2, as I don't have a PSP... Oh well, Wiki to the rescue!_

_Another reference is Mephiles humming when he was pretending to be Hope. I know this isn't noticeable but he's supposed to be humming his theme from the game, ya'know, Mephiles' Whisper. Well, that's the theme I had in my head, anyway._

_Another reference, and I believe my final one, is Eggman's speed. When he dashed down to Hope, despite being fat as crap, that's a reference to Sonic 2 and Sonic and Knuckles, because in those games, when Sonic chases him down, he some how out runs him... How the hell did he do that?_

_And yet another reference is the lands. I mention Spagonia, Holoska, and Chun-An... Boy... did I love Sonic Unleashed..._

_Oh well, that's enough for today. I'm going to bed... ugh..._

_By the by, did anyone notice how insane Android Shadow is? Holding onto Rouge and making references to love? He's nuttier than a can of peanuts._

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	12. Rebirth

Rebirth

He was a yellow blur, streaking up and down the hills of the area at speeds no one could specify. The black and white gun laid strapped to his back, and didn't bend even to the high speeds it was traveling at. Red Chaos Emerald in hand, Shadow glared over the Adabat fields, and off toward the jungles before him. Leaping off of the cliff before him, he landed on a tree branch. Not even thinking, he dashed off toward a vinyl sea of trees. Dashing between some, and leaping off of others, he cleared the distance of the forest in no time at all. He could smell the sea salt coming his way. It was such an exhilarating taste. Just a little faster. His Air Shoes under him began to scream, just a bit farther.

He was getting closer.

Spinning into a ball, he propelled himself up a tree, and into the sky. His ruby eyes trekked back and forth as he searched for his objective. There it was. At hyper speeds, he cocked back his Shadow Rifle, and aimed it forward. He wasn't thinking, not now...

He fired...

The yellow bolt of energy within it was launched forward at such great speeds. When it crashed into the ground, it caused an explosion to echo. Flames shot upwards, and sent the forest screaming in fear. There he was... that little wolf weasel...

"Dammit, Shadow!" he said, his voice with fear, "Stop it now!"

There he scurried, gun belt around his waist, the one known as Fang the Sniper. Shadow quickly put away his weapon, before dashing forward with his Air Shoes. Fan may have been fast, but Shadow was faster. Arms stretched out, he tackled the thieving wolf to the ground, causing both to crash into a tree.

Almost immediately, Fang recoiled. Whipping around his tail, he tried to strike at Shadow, but the hedgehog was quick. Juking back, he dodged the attack, only to counter with a chop to the face. Shadow's strike connected, and sent Fang stepping back in pain. Almost immediately, he followed up the strike with a roundhouse kick to the face. Fang was made dazed by the attack, but Shadow wasn't finished yet. Turning around, he delivered one final, brutal back kick, to Fang's chest. The blow was so strong, Fang was thrown into the tree behind him. He crashed into it, let out a grown, and quieted down.

"Dammit Shadow," he murmured, "you play to rough."

The hedgehog was in the mood for such childishness. Stepping forward, he grabbed Fang by the fur around his neck, and held him up.

"Listen hear you little weasel!" he yelled, slamming him against the tree's bark, "I have questions, and you have answers! Tell me, where is Dr. Robotnik's base!?"

"How should I know!?" the purple wolf said, "I haven't been in league with that egg head in years!"

"Liar!" Shadow roared, slamming him against the tree again, "Now tell me! Where is he!?"

"I don't know!" Fang roared back.

"Nack, if you don't tell me the truth right now, I'll kill you on the spot!"

Quickly, Shadow's hands moved around Fang's neck.

"Now tell me," he continued, "where is Dr. Robotnik?"

"I don't get you, Shadow," Fang said, "I thought the Doctor and you were on good terms, shouldn't you know?"

"His base changes all the time, he's never in the same place twice."

"Then why do you think, I know where he's at?"

"I have my hunches..." he murmured, "Now tell me, where the hell is he!?"

Shadow's eyesight tightened, while Fang's eyes grew twisted. Grinning, the wolf said,

"You really wanna know? It'll cost you!"

Shadow slammed him against the tree.

"Then again," Nack coughed, "I can do this out of the goodness of my heart."

"You better..."

"The good old, egg head is in a base known as Genocide City."

"Genocide City? I've never heard of such a place."

"It's super secret," Fang continued, "It lies on a mountainous island in the middle of the ocean. On top of this mountain is the city, where it lies high above the crashing waves. The only sign of civilization in the entire area."

"So, where is it?" Shadow questioned.

"In between South Island and Chun-Nan, you can't miss it."

"Oh, and how so?"

"The city almost always has dark clouds swirling over it. If you miss it, you're blind, simple as that..."

Shadow brought away his hands, and chuckled. That was easier than he thought. He was sure he'd have to start pulling away Fang's insides.

"Thank you, Nack," he said, crossing his arms, "you're aid today may prove vital in the future."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"But if this is a lie, and I don't find the Doctor's base, I'll come back for you, and make you regret it."

"Of course, Mr. Agentman!"

Turning away, Shadow began tapping a few buttons on his glove. A holographic map of the world appeared before him, showing his position. He dragged the artificial globe around, before coming to the gap of seas between South Island and Chun-Nan. Nodding, he lifted the red Chaos Emerald in his hands. In complete silence, he once again vanished. Fang crossed his arms, as his eyes moved left and right. The noise of cracking wood began to echo in his ears, much to his fear.

"Uh-oh..." he murmured, looking up to the tree that was about to fall atop him.

...

Electrical impulses flew through the air.

Welding tool in hand, and mask on face, Hope began to painfully fuse together two pieces of steel and metal. Dr. Robotnik was away from her, connecting cords of electrical power and energy. Energies inside started to course, and blue energy brought light to the room at large. With that finished, the great Doctor moved away to deal with other pieces of steel. Whipping out a steel saw, he started to cleave pieces of scrap metal apart. Once he was done with that, he marveled at the beauty of the slice. Hope must have noticed he was finished, as she stretched out a hand, gesturing for a piece of metal. Eggman handed it over, and Hope started to weld steel to steel.

The mechanical wonder they were building was beginning to take shape. So far, it vaguely resembled a port-hole of some sort. Oddly, Hope never asked what was this thing supposed to do. Would it bring Mephiles to it, or would they have to bring Mephiles to it... for lack of better words...

Over head, more machines helped attach things to their joint creation. This massive creation was growing more and more lively as time went. It wouldn't be too long until it was completed. The machine they were created looked similar to a crescent moon laid on its side. A great 'C', if you will. Will it be remained this way, or will it be made full, Hope wasn't sure. She needed to look at the schematics of this thing a bit closer.

Another piece of metal down, she removed her face mask. Boy, the heat in this room was unbearable. Dragging her hand across her forehead, she wiped off a great deal of sweat. Is this what her Uncle did all day? Working in dark atmospheres while the heat index grows and grows? Boy, being a Robotnik was hard work.

The Egg Pawns that ran amongst them were ever so helpful. Every now and then, they'd hand the adolescent mechanic a drink or two, in order to keep the heat down. Did she have a power over these robots?

Her eyes shifted downward, as a few of Dr. Robotnik's bigger robots brought in command consoles and other things. They dropped it to the ground near the port-hole they were designing, and quickly shuffled away. Hope hopped down to the various command consoles, and began analyzing them quickly. They seemed like the ones that were needed, so she smiled with glee. A cord stretched from the console's backside, and she picked it up. Grabbing another cord that lied randomly on the ground, she connected the two together. The blue energy that ran through the cords Dr. Robotnik put together, now ran through the cord running up to the console. The machine started to hum with life, which garnered another gleeful smile from Hope.

Dropping to her feet, she began to rummage through the console's cords and search for various items. Far away, brushing his fingers along his mustache, was Robotnik. Just watching his niece work on machinery in such a way was so life-giving. At the speeds they were working, and if they kept this up continuously, they would be done in no time. Oh, that thought sent waves of sheer pleasure up his spine. Blue eyes looking downward, he returned to the task at hand.

Hm... where was Android Shadow?

...

Rouge pulled back.

The gold and black hedgehog before her gave a malicious smile, as the food in his hands grew colder and colder.

"Rouge, dear," he said, a demented chuckle following, "you'll have to eat sooner or later."

She wanted to wring his neck out so badly. Just a lunge, and her hands would be around his neck. Had it not been for the chains holding her back, she'd be free to do whatever the hell she pleased.

All night he had been here, talking to her, and making the lewdest of gestures. Could this being before her really be a clone of Shadow? It had to be impossible. He was so far removed from the stoic being she called friend.

Everything he did was so demented, even now. Here he stood, trying to feed her, as if she was some kind of child.

"Rouge," he whispered, lifting a spoon of soup, "come on, try to eat something, you have to keep your strength up."

Despite her very angry face, he tried to put the spoonful in her mouth. At first, she tried to blow it away, but when he forced it into her mouth, she spat it out instead. Android Shadow shook his head in playfully scolding manner, before once again grabbing Rouge's chin.

"Rouge, dear, that's not nice." he said.

She still kept her angry face trained.

"Why are you doing this?" she said, despite her clenched face.

"Oh, I'm just trying to express my love for you. Has that echidna ever fed you like this? How about brother, has _he_ ever fed you so lovingly?"

What the hell was wrong with him? This was obviously not love. Did he even know what love was?

"Let go!" she said, waving her head free of his grasp.

"Oh, Rouge," he whispered, "I can't stand the way you are... I try to show affection, and you just wave it off as nothing... beautiful girls like you can be so mean."

Nice words aside, she was still enraged. How long would she have to stand this torture?

The door slid open, revealing an Egg Pawn. Android Shadow and Rouge looked back at the sudden intruder with questioning eyes.

"Your request is ready, Android Shadow." the Egg Pawn said.

"Hmph, perfect." the Android answered.

Leaping off from the pedestal that held Rouge, the android moved over to a command console. Said console would free Rouge's bonds.

"I cannot wait," the Android said, tapping away at buttons, "things are going to get spectacular!"

"What are you talking about!?" Rouge barked.

"You'll see, Rouge dear."

Hands dropping to the side, he withdrew a tranquilizer gun. Rouge scanned it quickly, before trying her hardest to escape the bondage that held her. Android Shadow, finding this kind of cute, leaped back onto the platform that held Rouge, and started to brush her hair lovingly.

"Ah, Rouge dear, there's nothing to be fearful about."

"What are you going to do!?" she said, through her teeth.

"Well, since you've been such a great partner, I'll let you in on a little secret. Genocide City is important for a reason, Rouge dear. This island holds one of Dr. Robotnik's old Roboticization machines."

"A... what?"

"The E-Series robots, save for Omega, were the last machines to use such a technique. Honestly though, he's never used a Mobian before. I've often wondered what would happen if he did."

"What... is Roboticization?"

"A process in which animals are used to power machines, and on rare occasions, become the machine themselves... You are so, so, defiant Rouge... I'm going to have to change you a bit."

"No!" she barked, "You are not making me into a mindless slave!"

"You have no choice."

Pulling on the trigger, he injected a silencing dart into Rouge's arm. She tried to fight it off, but the chemicals were fast acting. Her eyes started to falter and falter, while Android Shadow's sadistic gaze grew into view. That was the last thing she saw before total darkness...

...

"Commander! Commander!"

His different colored eyes opened one after another.

Heart of Stone, Heart of Stone...

No heart attack was bringing him down.

He was in the middle of the hall, drooling like an idiot. How did he get here? Where was Mephiles!? He tried to stand, but his heart was saying 'no mas'. What happened last night? Was it a dream, a nightmare? No... it happened, because he could feel it.

Many of his agents grabbed a hold of him and lifted him up. One put him on a stretcher, and others began tying him down. Nurses attended to his body, while doctors came to stabilize his health. Right now, the well-being of their commander was the only thing that mattered. And yet, his angry visage never wavered.

Glaring through the folds of his concerned agents, he saw her. Small, in between two other Agents, a fair amount of yards back. _Hope_, or, Mephiles, stared at him, with the most sadistic of grins. His eyes were in a squinting motion, and the shades of his hair gave him an ominous look. Finally, a doctor placed a mask over his mouth, that would sent him to sleep.

He needed to warn them, to tell them of Hope's treachery, but... he couldn't...

"Dammit..." he muttered.

...

She could feel cold straps clamp onto her body. Wrists first, then ankles, then stomach, and finally neck.

She gained the strength to see, but she couldn't do it so well. Everything was a blur. The room was so cold, and she felt her fur stand up on end. Glaring down to her body, she saw she was naked... when did that happen?

Opening her mouth, she tried to speak, but coughs came out instead. Suddenly, a sealing noise came, as a glass seal clamped over top her. Oh no... she was in some capsule

Away, Android Shadow appeared, at a command console. He glared through the screen at the sultry bat, and started typing away.

"You'll love being an android, Rouge," he said, loud enough so she could hear it, "you'll be so beautiful."

She tried to break free of her bonds, but she was so weak, she couldn't move. Instead, she started crying, as the strength in her muscles grew worse and worse.

"No," she yelled, "I don't wanna be like you!"

"But you'll enjoy it!" he replied, enthusiastically enough, "Just you wait and see!"

His tapping on the console came to a stop. From the machine's top, a slot opened, and revealed to the android a lever. His gloved hand fell onto the red knob, and he prepared for roboticization.

"Are you ready, Rouge dear?" he asked.

"NO!" she cried, "I don't want this!"

Grip tightening, he pulled down on the red switch.

At first, nothing happened, the room remained as silent as usual. But then, it started shaking. The capsule Rouge was held in started to shake, and shake, and shake. Electrical bolts of energy started to course through the machine, and a loud whirring noise boomed above everything else. Rouge tried to break free, but she was still too weak. Why, why was this happening to her?

Suddenly, she felt a bolt of electricity fall upon her. A great surge of pain went throughout every inch of her body. She let out a scream of pain, but the machine went on. Another bolt of electricity zapped her, and once again, she screamed out.

"Make it stop!" she yelled.

"Not now, Rouge dear!" Android Shadow answered.

More and more electrical bolts struck her, over and over again. The pain was growing to nigh unbearable levels. She was praying for it to stop, but it never did. The pain in her body surged and surged, she wanted it to end. And soon, it would.

She felt her eyes shift. No longer could she see normal sights, such as colors and hues, no... she saw... numbers. 0 and 1, to be exact. Everything grew dark as 0 and 1's filled her eyesight from top to bottom. She could hear her own screams. They no longer sounded human, and more distorted. Like... a machine's...

The capsule she was encased in started to quake. The screen, started to crack, and the restrains began opening. Suddenly, a bolt of energy struck the machine, and everything began exploding. Smoke, fire, and lightning began to rupture from the great device. It wasn't stable anymore, this wasn't good.

"What's going on!?" she heard Android Shadow's voice boom, "This isn't supposed to be happening!"

Rouge felt her arm get free. Not only that, she felt... stronger... Reaching forward, she punched open her way through the capsule's seal. Next, she broke her legs free from the bonds, and finally her body.

Her wings began to force their way open. They two, felt different, longer, and more powerful. Focusing her strength, she threw forth her arms, and let out a roar, causing a sonic wave to rush through the room. The Roboticization machine began to crush and crumble under her new-found power, and soon, it exploded. Smoke and debris were thrown upwards, constricting the view of all those who attempted to see.

Android Shadow gazed through the dark room toward the flying smoke. Inside of it, he could hear the noise of metal clamping against metal. Did it work?

"Rouge, dear?" he said.

"Why?" she answered, her voice a distorted version of her usual one, "Why did you do this?"

Through the fog, he could see a figure. It got closer and closer, before two visible wings appeared from the figure. They flapped quickly, and brushed away all the smoke that surrounded it.

Her body was silver. A heart-shaped symbol lied on her chest, while golden line streaked down the sides of her thighs. Every inch of her body was clad in silver armor, save for her eyes. The corneas were black, and her eye balls were mere ember lights. Her wings were now more pronounced in this robotic body, and they stretched on for what appeared to be yards. It was complete. Rouge the bat... was now...

"You're... beautiful..." Android Shadow said.

But Rouge wouldn't have it. She was incapable of making facial features, but if she could, she would look so disappointed, sad, and hurt.

"Why?" she murmured, "Why!?"

"Now we can be together," Android Shadow said, getting closer, "don't you understand?"

"NO!" she barked out, causing a sonic wave to rumble through the already weak room, "I never wanted this!"

"Just listen to me," Android Shadow said, "don't you see? You're more perfect than I could have ever imagined."

Rouge wasn't having anymore of his words though. Her wings began to flap, and she caused gale force winds to fill the room. Android Shadow tried to face it, but he was blown back moments later. The wind was so strong, it carried him a few yards, before slamming him against the wall.

Rouge, or Cyber Rouge, glared down to the defeated Android. She was so angry, she was ready to tear him limb from limb. Glaring down to her hands, she saw her fingers had sharp dagger like claws on the end. Why!? Why did this happen!?

The anguish she felt was so overpowering, she let out a loud scream, one that caused the room to shake and shake. Her roaring was so strong, it caused the ceiling to break open, revealing the dark skies above. Rouge's screams stopped suddenly, as her teal lit eyes gazed toward the dark clouds. Wings flapping she took of skyward, while miniature jet packs on her back opened up. A moment later, she rocketed out.

Android Shadow shook his head as he came to his feet slowly. Ruby eyes gazing skyward, he began to quake at Rouge's sudden exit. Oh no...

Dr. Robotnik would not like this...


	13. Wrath of the Huntsman

Wrath of the Huntsman

The waves around the despicable island crashed almost endlessly. Everything about this place was violent, from the heights, to the rocks, to the storm that battered him on the way in. But now he was here, there was no fighting against that. He was slightly injured, but that did nothing to lower his attitude. Mission was simple, find Rouge, rescue Rouge, find Omega, rescue Omega, find Hope, rescue Hope. Kill everyone else that gets in his way. Oh yeah, and maybe he should try rescuing Sonic... maybe...

If things weren't bad enough, the rocks surrounding Genocide City were jagged and sharp. A gloved hand found its way onto one of the grey boulders, and pulled itself up. Shadow let out a low groan, as waters from behind slammed up against him. If he had been anyone else, he would have surely died from the intense waves and rocks. But one does not merely, _kill_, the ultimate life form.

His ruby eyes glared up to the burning black skies. A lightning bolt struck down toward him, but crashed harmlessly away. Filled by purpose and mission, Shadow withdrew his Shadow Rifle. Cocking it back, he prepared to traverse the long and arduous journey up the mountain side. It wouldn't take him too long...

...

"You idiot! I can't believe you!"

His fist raised high into the sky, and then slammed down onto the command console at his side. He was so angry, he couldn't think straight. Every thought that entered his furious mind would be shot down. What did he do now? One prisoner escaping was to much.

Eyes moving to the side, he glared at this crowning achievement Metal Sonic. His cold exterior, and burning ember lit eyes. He was truly a masterpiece. He never suffered from any eternal problems such as love and happiness. To Metal Sonic killing Sonic was his true happiness. Sure, he may have been a bit insane, but it didn't matter. He wouldn't do anything to impeded on his Sonic killing mission.

But this, this was out of it. Why, why did he have such a problem? Why did he constantly give his creations minds and souls? And why, why did Android Shadow have the ability to love?

"I don't understand, Doctor," Android Shadow said, "why didn't the Roboticization process work? She became a machine, why didn't she listen to me!?"

The Doctor said nothing. Waving his finger to Metal Sonic, he sent an invisible message over to his blue demon. The robot nodded, before dashing off toward Android Shadow. Metal hands around neck, he began choking the golden clone.

"The Roboticization process didn't work, because it wasn't created to work on Mobians!" Robotnik yelled, "There's a reason I only roboticized small animals, and not Mobians. You see, there was strange kink in the design of the Roboticization machine. For some reason, the stronger the willpower of the animal, the less likely the machine was going to work. Most animals have no willpower, meaning they become robots that never, ever, disobey me, but Mobians on the other hand... Err... only down on their luck Mobians can become robots capable of control. Rouge, however, is not one of those 'down on their luck' Mobians. She's got a stronger will, you fool! Of course she wouldn't be deminished to taking orders from someone other than her! Robot or not!" Eggman looked at him, "Do you understand!"

"Yes-Ack- Doc-Ergh!-tor!"

"Good! Metal Sonic, release him!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, the blue demon released his prey. Robotnik wasn't happy. Blue eyes glaring down, he started to mutter utterances under his breath. What to do, what to do? If Hope found a roboticized Rouge, she would surely learn of the Doctor's treachery, and then everything would come crashing down. He needed to hurry, and fast.

Tapping a button on his armrest, he yelled out,

"Metal Shadow Force! To me!"

Silver streaks dashed around the room at high speeds, before coming together before Robotnik. The clone beings of destruction, red, blue, green, and orange, appeared in Eggman's midst, all on their knees in a bowing position. The jolly old egghead, loved the Metal Shadow Force. Created when Shadow was still in the capsule, they were design to be the ultimate killing machines. Free of compassion, free of mercy, free of anything that made them less determined and less destructive. They only had one soft spot, a problem all clones of Shadow shared...

Blue eyes, blonde hair...

"Metal Shadow Force," Robotnik continued, "I have a mission for you. Android Shadow has, foolishly, unleashed a roboticized Rouge amongst the world. Your mission is to find and destroy her, before Hope finds out, understand?"

In unison they nodded.

"Good," he continued, "she transformed last night, so there's a chance she's still in Genocide City. But those chances are slim. I'm not sure what Rouge has been given thanks to the roboticized process, so chances are she could be anywhere."

"Not, likely," Android Shadow said, recovering from his choke, "I saw what Rouge can do. She has a Sonic Scream, one that can destroy things in its path, her wings can produce gale force winds, and she can fly faster thanks to jet boosters on her back. But, I'm sure there's more..."

"More what?" a feminine voice called from behind.

Walking in, oil stains on her jacket and skirt, and hair in pony tails, was Hope. She slowly shuffled her wrench into her coat, and then gazed upon the masses of robots before her. They all looked apprehensive, and awaited her words.

"Hope, dear!" Eggman said, leaping off from his seat, "What are you doing up so early?"

"I'm just so ready to get going, Uncle Ivo," she said, "besides, I went looking for a washing room and I didn't find one..." she looked down, "This clothing is getting dirtier and dirtier as time goes on." looking up, she continued, "So, what were you all talking about?"

"Oh, nothing dear," Robotnik said, laying his hand on her shoulder, "we're just going over some game plans on getting Mephiles over here."

"Well, shouldn't I have been informed?"

"Oh, no, no! I don't want you dealing any more with Mephiles than you have," he turned her around, "now, let's get back to work! After a nice warm breakfast."

With her back turned, he signaled to his Metal Shadow Force to get going. But they stayed there for a few moments, their ember eyes locked onto Hope. One of them looked to the others, and it was as if an unknown conversation was going among them. Seconds later, they vanished in silver streaks. Only Android Shadow, Metal Sonic, and some lowly Egg Pawns remained. The gold and black clone looked to his cold blue ally, and made an annoyed expression. Metal Sonic wasn't having any of it. Jet boosters humming, the blue demon hovered away and down a hall. Now alone, the android crossed his arms.

Wait... did anyone else feel that?

His ruby eyes moved left and right, while his head and body turned around. Someone was here, who shouldn't have been. He may have not been in the palace, but he was in the city. A sadistic smirk grew on the gold and black hedgehog's muzzle.

"Ah, brother!" he said, "You've finally made your appearance!"

...

The steel floor under his feet was cold and heartless. Smoke from the stacks were hot and burning. Clouds in the sky was black and malicious. Genocide City was evil, nothing more nothing less. If this is what the Doctor did when he got one island to himself, Shadow didn't want to know what he would do if he got the entire planet to himself.

Didn't matter though, he had a mission.

Shadow Rifle on his back, he got ready.

3...

2...

1...

GO!

Like a yellow streak, he dashed down the metal road before him. Feet kicking up, everything in the area became a blur to him. Many Egg Pawns he saw hadn't notice who he was, until he had already dashed by. A building in front of him split the road in two, but Shadow didn't care. Boosting forward, he struck up the building, and onto the roofs above. Flying in the air, keeping their eyesight trained on everything, was a few flying Gunbots. With anger, Shadow dashed forward, and homed in on the flying trio. Striking one, in instantly exploded, and propelled him higher in the sky. Dashing forward again, he homed in on another, and then, the final one. With all three Gunbots down, he landed back onto the ground.

The whirring noise of an alarm had begun to sound... Good, he wanted the Doctor to know he was here.

Once again, he dashed off, feet in their usual skating motion. An armor of Egg Pawns and Gunbots appeared before him. Not caring in the slightest, Shadow dashed forward with a yellow aura around his body. He had gained so much kinetic energy, whenever he slammed into an opponent, that fool was as dead as crap. The road had quickly become littered with the dead of the robots.

Suddenly the road curved up, and started curling around a great building. Not slowing down, Shadow dashed forward and up the side of the road. It went up, and up, and up, before stopping suddenly going nowhere. Dr. Robotnik's architecting is weird.

Coming to the end of the road, Shadow leaped off like a yellow star. He was so high in the sky right now, Gunbots in the air were able to catch up with him. Growing angry, he started flinging Chaos Spears at them. The yellow bolts of power would fly up, before pinpointing their aim on their foes. Once they connected, the Eggman robots would exploded in a blazing glory.

Free-falling now, Shadow aimed his eyesight on the buildings around. Where would the Doctor be keeping his allies? In a jail cell, a bunker maybe? No... eyes locking forward, he noticed the massive palace that lied so far ahead. Of course, he would keep them there...

Landing on the ground, he once again dashed forward. Buildings and power plants blurred away, but noises remained constant. Now, not only did the alarm scream, but also a loud humming noise. Gazing up, Shadow saw a flying fortress just over head. From the vehicle's carriage, a series of robots fell from the sides. Guns trained on Shadow's position, the many robot's fired upon him. As bullets rained upon his position, the ultimate life form entered Chaos Boost mode. The red aura around his body, he was protected against all forces of weapons. Leaping forward, he vanished in mid-air, only to reappear before another foe. Striking it down, he once again vanished, only to, once again, reappear before another foe. Striking that one, he did the same thing over and over again, before the fleet of robots that attacked him fell to the ground.

He was so angry right now. Though he was doing good, he felt an overwhelming sense of evil enter his heart. The Doctor would pay for all the things he had done up until now!

"Ergh!" he roared, "Death to all that oppose me!"

His aura exploding with power, he was surrounded in a red aura that glowed at a greater intensity. Thrusting forward his hands, he suddenly yelled out,

"CHAOS BLAST!"

From his hands, he fired a powerful beam of hate induced power. The red energy beam slammed into the carrier above him, and caused a rippling force of explosions to quake through it. Seconds later, the entire air ship fell, and crashed into the city streets below. The explosion was so great, it demolished the area around it.

With a mighty shockwave, Shadow landed. Laying his hand on his head, he took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. What was it that Rouge always said? Anger helps no one? Ugh... he was angry, but he needed to focus. Rage wouldn't help him right now.

But.. something felt off. The alarms were blaring, but no one of importance had arrived yet. Where was his clone? Shouldn't he be here by now?

No... worse than his clone.

"Chaos Blast has been copied..." a voice called from behind.

Shadow turned around, and gazed into Metal Sonic's ember lit eyes. The cold blue demon stretched forth his silver hands, and fired a beam of red Chaos Energy. Not going to be bested by his own move, Shadow leaped up high. The explosion was loud and great, but the black hedgehog dodged it easily. Focusing intensely, Shadow summoned a swarm of yellow energy in his hands, and launched it forward. Chaos Spears danced in the air, as they pinpointed their positions on Metal Sonic. Like yellow streaks they flew toward the blue monster. But Metal Sonic always had a counter measure. Lifting up his feet, and grabbing a hold of his body, he invoked the Black Shield, a black and purple diamond-shaped barrier. The Chaos Spears slammed against the shield, and did nothing to the blue foe within.

Attack over, Metal Sonic broke free from his shield. With ember eyes forward, he dashed into Shadow before him. He lifted him up in the air, spun around, and then drove him downward. When Shadow and Metal Sonic slammed into the air, they caused a sizable dent to appear on the metal roads. Shadow felt pain course up his body as the pressure between his foe and the earth grew. Not going to be flattened to death though, he bucked up his feet. Using his Air Shoes, he propelled himself and Metal Sonic up and away.

Now in the air, the two foes were battling valiantly to gain power in the air struggle. But Metal Sonic had an ace.

Chest glowing blue, he aimed it forward. Suddenly, he fired forth a blue beam of energy, directly into Shadow's chest. The force of the attack was so great, it slammed Shadow into the earth behind him. He crashed into a building, and damaged the infrastructure so much, it fell atop him. Smoke and debris flew skyward from the attack, and blinded all those who gazed inside. Metal Sonic kept his eyes trained forward though, and scanned the dust. Shadow had already recovered.

Chaos Spears flew forward from the dust, and struck past Metal Sonic. The attack was a ruse though, as it was only suppose to keep his attention tied. Glaring forward, he saw Shadow, but more importantly, he saw the Shadow Rifle. It was aimed forward, toward his body, and Shadow fired.

The yellow bolts of powerful energy inside flew out of the rifle's barrel, and struck Metal Sonic's chest. Almost immediately, an explosion occurred, one that sent the blue demon away. Pieces of his blue armor and shelling was blown off by the strike, and Metal Sonic was sent down.

One shot, that's all that was necessary. For now, the blue demon was out.

"I didn't want to do this, Metal Sonic," Shadow said as he came to the ground, "deep down inside, I still view you as an ally."

His ruby eyes glared elsewhere. Time to go...

Once again, in a yellow flash, he vanished, moving at high speeds toward Dr. Robotnik's palace.

...

Hope glared up to the alarms as eggs hung halfway through her mouth. What was going on?

Her uncle was even more concerned, as he stopped eating he stopped eating his food as well. All the Egg Pawns in the kitchen had released their grips on their tools, and replaced them with weapons, before running out of the room.

"Uncle Ivo," Hope said, "what's going on?"

"Nothing!" Robotnik said, growing frantic, "It's just a... drill..."

But of course, Hope didn't believe him.

"A drill?" she said, "Then why the face?"

"Just stay here, Hope," he said, "I'll deal with it."

Feet kicking up, he started to fret. As he exited the kitchen area, he just wondered why this had to happen. He knew Shadow was coming, he was sure of it, in fact, he betted on it, but not this soon! He was supposed to be sent on wild goose chases! He even told Fang his location so he would lie to Shadow...

...

...

Now that he thought about it, maybe that wasn't so smart...

But damn! First Cyber Rouge, now this? He needed Hope for just a few more days, hours even, and then the plan would be complete! Oh, this was the pits. He sent the Metal Shadow Force away, they wouldn't be back yet. Oh, just so perfect!

He arrived at the command center. Where was Android Shadow!? Bah, it didn't matter. He leaped onto the command seat, and started to press buttons. He needed to fortify his defenses, and hurry up. Shadow would be here soon.

The roof exploded...

Never mind, he was here now...

Smoke and debris filled the air as the palace shook from the strike. Through the dust, he could see the black hedgehog's demonic figure. Many Egg Pawns ran into the area, but they were disposed of by yellow bolts of energy. Once the dust settled, Shadow stood, eyes filled with ruby eyes and hate.

Slowly, the ultimate life form withdrew his Shadow Rifle. Holding it in both hands, he glared forward in pure hate.

"Doctor," he said, "Its time you paid for all of your villainy."

"Shadow!" he said, frantically, "It's not what you think."

The hedgehog gave an annoyed and angry glare. Dashing forward, he suddenly struck Eggman square in his big fat nose. The attack was so great, it slammed the Doctor back into his chair. His bald head slammed against the head rest, and he fell out of his seat seconds later. But Shadow wasn't finished. Lifting Eggman by his collar, he slammed him against a command console to his back. The attack was so great, the console crumbled under the blow, sending sparks and flames everywhere. Eggman coughed up from the blow, and blood started to seep from his nose and mouth. But Shadow... he would only keep going. Letting go of the Doctor, he lifted his rifle. Turning it over, he wielded it like a bat, and struck Eggman across the side with the rifle's butt. The Doctor doubled over in pain, and fell back into the ground. Crawling away, he said,

"P-p-p-please, Shadow, calm down!"

Was he really trying to ask for mercy? And worse of all, he tried asking it of Shadow. Shadow gives mercy to no one, no exceptions.

He started to approach the Doctor dauntingly, his shade growing over him. The Doctor continued to crawl back, before he suddenly stopped at the foot of his chair. Reaching for it, he quickly withdrew a gun. He aimed it forward, but Shadow was so fast, he slapped the gun out of his hands before he could fire. The ultimate life form grabbed him forcefully by the throat, and he lifted him up high in the sky.

"What's wrong, Doctor!?" he yelled, rage seething in his voice, "Are you scared!?"

"Shadow-Ack!-you have to-Ergh!-believe me!"

"Believe you!? Believe you!? Why would I do that!? You kidnapped my teammates, what good could that possibly do!?"

"Sha-KUH!-dow!"

It was over. Shadow was so angry, he was going to break every bone in the Doctor's body. Lifting him high, he suddenly slammed him into the earth, sending a wave to follow. The doctor started to gurgle his own blood, as he tried to recoil from the hit. It was a surprise he was still awake... good... Shadow wanted him to see his end coming.

The hedgehog lifted his rifle, and he aimed it forward. The iron sights wavered dangerously to Eggman's head, and he said,

"No more... I will not allow any more of my friends to be taken away!"

"Shadow stop!" a voice cried.

He locked up.

"H-Hope?" he questioned, looking away.

She was standing at the doorway, hands over her mouth, as she witnessed the carnage before her. Had she... seen that?

Tears had begun rolling down her cheeks... why?

Shadow... he felt so horrible right now... oh no...

She started to run forward, but she stopped suddenly. Such mayhem, such brutality... was this the Shadow she loved? She had never seen him do something like this to a human. Robots maybe, but... not another being.

She started to walk lightly to her uncle, and when she arrived, she collapsed on top of him. Not even Eggman, as evil as he was, deserved so much pain and strife.

She looked upon his face, and found nothing but pain. His nose was bent out of shape, glasses were shattered, face all kinds of ruined, and teeth broken and bent. Oh, it was so horrible...

"Shadow, how could you?" she said, tears welling up.

How could he? How could he!?

"I tried saving you!" he barked.

"But... did he deserve this?" she said, her blue eye looking at him.

Just seeing those orbs, filled with hurt and sadness, it silenced Shadow.

"I understand he kidnapped me," Hope continued, "but... he hadn't laid a finger on me in any way since I arrived... he did nothing to merit this assault."

"What about Rouge and Omega!?" Shadow barked back, "What has he done with them!?"

"Nothing..." she whispered, "Rouge and Omega aren't here..."

"What... are you talking about?" Shadow questioned, growing softer.

"Rouge, Omega, and everyone else on the Egg Carrier that day... they aren't here..."

"Where are they then?"

"I don't know..."

"This sounds farfetched!" Shadow said, getting angry again, "What's going on!? If Dr. Robotnik didn't kidnap them, who did?"

"Hope..." a low, pained, and haggard voice called.

Once again, Dr. Robotnik spit up blood, as he tried to speak.

"Uncle Ivo!" Hope cried.

"Uncle... Ivo?" Shadow said, an eyebrow raising.

The jig was up... time to come clean.

"Shadow..." Hope said, "He's... my... uncle..."

Years of secrets held... and it was over... for some reason, Hope felt freed. And yet, she never gazed up to Shadow. His eyesight, though she didn't see it, she could feel it.

"What?" he said, not believing her words.

"My name is Hope Robotnik... not Kintobor... My father is Colin Robotnik... Dr. Robotnik's brother..."

No... this couldn't be possible. Hope... there was no way Hope was a Robotnik. She looked nothing like them... nothing like... _him._

"Is that so hard to believe?" she whispered.

"Why... why did you lie to me?"

"Because he's my Uncle!" she said, looking to him, "Dr Robotnik, with his mindless schemes... he's always tried to take over the world, and my father just couldn't take it any more. We broke off ties with him, and named ourselves Kintobors. Once that happened, my life got so much better, Shadow... but... I'm a Robotnik, at heart..."

Shadow looked away. A face of anger and confusion swelled upon his face. What did he do now? What now? He was so angry, he wanted to destroy everything... why? Why did Hope make him feel like this? Why did he suddenly regret beating the living tar out of Eggman. Honestly, it felt good, but now he felt horrible. No one should ever feel horrible for beating down Eggman, but she made him feel it. He needed to break free from this... he needed to think... he...

He vanished, in a yellow light, out side to the city streets.

Hope felt horrible as well. Shadow's face looked so hurt and confused at the same time. But... he had no reason to injure her uncle as badly as he did. Lifting him up, she scanned closely his face.

"Uncle Ivo, are you okay?"

He gurgled up blood once again.

Metal clanks rumbled through the floor, and got Hope's attention.

"Metal Sonic..." she said, looking up to him.

The robot was pretty battered after his battle with Shadow, but he was alright. Nothing a minute or two in the robot infirmary couldn't fix. He walked up to Hope, scanned her face, and then shifted his attention to his creator.

"Metal Sonic, help me with Uncle Ivo..."

The robot nodded. Metal hands stretching forward, he suddenly grabbed the doctor by his head, much to Hope's horror. Pulling, and pulling, he ripped it off with his massive power, an act that made Hope scream.

Wait... that wasn't right.

Cords? Wires and cords? What were they doing sticking out of her Uncle's neck?

"Oh poo, Metal Sonic!" a familiar voice cried, "Did you have to show her that way?"

From behind the seat, a door opened up. In the door, Eggman himself. He rubbed his mustache, gave his insidious grin, and then walked up to his confused niece, and his robot.

"I could've gotten a few more years out of this bot," he continued, "but you had to ruin that."

"B-b-b-but?" Hope said, confused.

"I'm sorry, dear," Eggman said, smiling, "I really feel bad for having to use you like that, but... oh well..."

"Use... me?"

"Yes, Hope dear, yes... you see, I knew the moment I kidnapped Rouge and Omega, it would only be a matter of time before he showed up. Originally, I never intended to take you as well..."

"So... the Egg Carrier... it was a trap for us?"

"Yes, I needed to get Shadow away from his team, it was never ment for Sonic, because I knew G.U.N. would get there first. But never once did I think you'd be there, hell, I didn't even recognize you at first." he raised his finger, "But I'm so happy you showed up. Shortly after starting my project, I ran into the problem of not being able to do it myself. But when I figured you out, I started to work my plan."

"Wait, I don't get it," Hope interrupted, "if the trap was ment for Team Dark, then why didn't you capture Shadow?"

"I tried, but because you were in the room, he reacted differently than I expected. He went out of his way to save you. You should feel so special..."

"So you do have Omega and Rouge!"

"Yes, and no... Omega is... difficult... I've been trying to reprogram him, but he wouldn't listen... so ultimately, I froze his mind, and placed him into my forgotten realm, until I can come up with a useful need of his body. Rouge, on the other hand..." he trailed off.

"Where is she?"

"Let's just say, she's got that chrome exterior she always wanted... just... not for her car..."

Hope pulled back. He... he was insane...

And she... she was foolish... Once evil, always evil... there was no if ands, or buts, about it.

"I can't believe you!" she yelled.

"Oh, Hope dear, please try not to raise your voice, it can't be good for you."

Standing up, she struck him with a slap to the face. Instead of showing pain though, the mad doctor merely laughed. Hope needed to escape, she needed to get out of here. Turning to a hall, she started running for it. But before she could make it, she was constricted by Metal Sonic's cold arms. He held her back, looked her in the eye, and said nothing.

"Metal Sonic!" she cried, "Let me go!"

Her struggling, while at first strong, devolved into nothing but weak flails.

"Metal Sonic!" she started crying, "Pleeeease... let me go..."

Her fighting ceased, and she fell to her knees. Hands on eyes she started to cry, and cry. She felt so dumb, and stupid, and idiotic... and ultimately... she felt childish...

Oh...

So...

Childish...

...

White lights ceased, and he reappeared at the city's edge.

He didn't know how should he of felt. Angry? Shocked? Confused? Sadness?

What should he feel!?

His powers were going wild as they too tried to understand him. He was changing blue, red, green, violet, all sorts of different colors as he tried to come to terms with what he heard.

By why did it matter? Hope was just another girl, right? Right? Why did he feel so differently around her? Why had he brought her on that bike ride? Why did he bring her back with him to Club Rouge? Why did he lie to Commander about her being at the Egg Carrier? Why did he bring her along with him to Emerald Town?

Why did that kiss...

Why did that kiss...

Why did that kiss...

Feel so freaking amazing? Even now he could taste Hope's lips on his. He tried to play it off as nothing but... it was so wonderful, and nice, and sweet, and... and... from that instant he wanted more. Even now... he wanted her... in his arms. Her soft skin on his fur. Ungloved fingers through her hair. Ruby eyes on blue... he wanted her...

He...

Maybe...

Of course not...

But...

Just...

Shadow the hedgehog...

He...

Loved...

Her...

"I... love Hope?" he said, eyebrow raised.

"Interesting choice of final words." A voice called back.

Shadow turned around. From the shadows, he saw gold on black.

"Android Shadow!" Shadow yelled, rage in his voice.

His clone stepped out from the shade, and crossed his arms. Smirk growing on his lips, he began chuckling.

"I love Hope," the android repeated, "oh well, if you're going to die, you might as well come to terms with it."

His feelings toward Hope may have been in flux, but his feelings toward that clone was eternal. His body exploded in a red aura.

"Android!" Shadow yelled.

Thrusting forward his hand, he launched a Chaos Javelin at his foe. The gold clone scoffed at the attack, and vanished before it reached him. He reappeared above Shadow, and struck down with a kick. The dark hedgehog merely lifted his arm, and swated the kick out-of-the-way. Android Shadow was thrown away from the attack, but he remained adamant. Landing on his feet, he quickly took a fighting pose. Shadow did likewise.

Silence filled the air, and things became as still as a spaghetti west film. But it wouldn't last long.

Both hedgehogs rushed each other, and started trading blows. Punches for punches, kicks for kicks, grapples for grapples. They were so equal right now. Locking into this struggle, they just tried to over power one another. It was eternal, no one could defeat the other.

"So what next, brother?" Android Shadow said, "If you defeat me, you're going to take Hope back?"

Shadow remained silent.

"She doesn't want you," he said, "not after what you did to her uncle!"

If Shadow wasn't mad before, he was mad now. Exerting extra strength, he lifted the Android above his head, and then tossed him away into a building. He threw him so hard, the clone slammed into the wall.

Shadow stood up tall after the attack, as he was sure the battle was over. What next? Would he go for Hope? What... did he do now? He hated this... if it wasn't his memories, then it was something for Rouge, not for Rouge... then he was grappling with emotions he didn't understand. But... Hope made it pretty well-known that she was unhappy with his motions toward her uncle. Would she forgive? Would she? There was only one way to find out.

Something felt odd though.

Turning around, he faced the Egg Palace, but... there was something in the streets before him. When did everything get so shaded? The roads were pitch black, and the darkness was only growing. Shadow tried stepping back, but he quickly came to Genocide City's edge.

"What is this!" he yelled, "Who are you!?"

The darkness in the road began swirling and swirling before coming together at the center point. All the shadows and darkness formed a black, resonating, dark puddle. And from said puddle, and being arose.

It looked just like Hope, from head to toe. Shadow was taken aback by this sudden turn of events. The being looked up at him, gave a sadistic smirk, and started walking off.

"Shadow the hedgehog." it said, its voice so manly and evil sounding, "Long time no see."

"Who are you!?" Shadow yelled, though he was frozen with confusion.

"What? Don't remember me?" the being closed his eyes, and opened them back up. Blue orbs were thus replaced with green snakes, "Do you remember now!?"

Shadow shook his head. That must have made the being angry, because his face grew enraged.

"Remember! How you sealed me up! For ten years I sat inside some damned scepter, unable to do anything!"

"What are you talking about!?" Shadow yelled, pointing at this monster.

Slowly, the angry face became a devilish smirk. And then, that... being started to shake. It shook, and shook and shook, before it started to morph. The skin became rough, and the hair, became solid like rocks. In fact, everything about the being, became rock like and crystallized. All the tomboyish cuteness that belonged to Hope was being replaced with rocky horror. Its hands had become long, blue, black, and white, not to mention sharp and cracky. Its feet had suddenly disappeared, only to be replaced by purple fire, and sharp appendages that was its legs. And ultimately its eyes. The corneas were a flaming purple, while its irises remained the green snakes as before.

"Remember me now!?" it yelled, "Those battles we had!? You, Rouge, Omega!?"

"Who are you?"

"I am Mephiles! Mephiles the Dark! Now do you remember!?"

"I've never met something as ugly as you before!"

"Do you know how horrible I felt after you killed me!?" Mephiles yelled, "I didn't die! After you killed Solaris with your stupid friends! I didn't die! I should have, but I didn't! We separated! Iblis and I! And worse yet, we just couldn't die! As Solaris, we unknowingly created a pocket dimension! And when that whore of a princess and that blue jackass blew out the fire, we never existed! Do you know how none existence feels!? Floating around, just the two of us, in a world where we could never be one! In a world where we were eternally separated! In a world where there is nothing! NOTHING!"

"It sounds perfect for you." Shadow murmured.

"None existence... its worse than death..."

"Tell me, Mephiles," Shadow said, "what are you talking about? What's an Iblis? And what do you mean blowing out the fire? And plus, Solaris doesn't exist! It's just the god of some country!"

"Oh, Solaris existed," Mephiles said, "I am Solaris. Half of him, at least... You know... as I floated around in none existence, I remembered you. A thousand years I suffered in that dimension alone, but I never forgot you. Your face, your form... I would make you suffer, I made that promise!"

"And it seems you failed at that promise, Mephiles."

"Oh have I? Here you stand, alone... AWOL, Hope hates you for what you did to her Uncle, Rouge and Omega are God knows where... and you... here alone? Haven't I made you suffer?"

"Alone or with friends, I'll fight... just like I always have..."

"Those words... those damned words! Go ahead... fight... I'll end you all the same..."

"Try me!"

Shadow took a fighting pose and was ready to begin the fight. But... he couldn't move... All around him, he heard these boy like chortles, as if they were laughing at him. Shadow tried to force on, but he couldn't move. Only one way to break free. Fists tightening, his body exploded with a red aura. The shadows holding back his body faded away, as his Chaos Boost took form. Giving a grin, Shadow rushed forward at high speeds. He was making his way toward Mephiles, when it happened.

A Chaos Spear fly in his direction, and crashed into his face. The attack did nothing, but bother him.

But it was all a distraction. A fatal one... at that...

Mephiles pulled back his hand, thrusted it forward, and then...

A cold searing pain entered through Shadow's body. It went into him, through him, and back out the other end. From Mephiles' hand, a long, white and black blade of unknown origin. It was covered in a black and purple aura and it was all so cruel. The blade went straight through Shadow's body, and could be seen out of the other end. Blood flew from the wound, and also from Shadow's mouth.

Mephiles pulled back the blade, and Shadow... he remained standing.

He shook over and over again, as his hand found its way to the wound in his body. Once again, he coughed, sending a spew of blood flying. Every inch of his body quaked with extreme pain. He needed to get away, to heal, but... he couldn't... not like this... not like this...

From Mephiles' mouth, or lack there of, he started to laugh. His demonic, maniacal laugh was so mind razing and terrifying. And Shadow couldn't do anything about it other than coughed and moan in pain. More and more blood fell and fell. It was pooling at his legs... why was he still standing?

A second later, his golden clone walked up. Android Shadow looked so smug and cocky as he gazed down upon his _brother._ From the invisible space that is his pockets, he withdrew a pistol. This was the end.

"I believe this," the android said, "is mine..."

Reaching from behind Shadow, he took the Shadow Rifle from his hands. Despite the impaling blade, it hadn't received one scratch. Android Shadow marveled at the weapon, before pointing the pistol directly at Shadow's head.

He fired.

The blow from the strike struck the black hedgehog square in his forehead. The force of the impact knocked Shadow back. This was the end.

His footsteps found air, and he was falling. He witness the edge of Genocide City fall away. Below him, the crashing waves and sharp rocks of Genocide City's base. There was nothing he could do. He could already feel life etch away from his fingertips. Death was his now... The Ultimate Life Form was finished. Now all he could do was wait and see. What would kill him first? The fall, the bullet, or the impalement. We'll see...

Above him, he saw it. Against the lightning, he witnessed a bat like figure fall toward him. Wings spread long, it descended upon him. Why did it look so familiar. Its teal eyes... heart-shaped chest... silver boots...

"Rouge..." he coughed out.


	14. The Day After

The Day After...

Hope's eyes pulled up.

What was the point...

The lighting of the room came only from the shocks of lightning outside.

It happened every now and then, and each time... Hope felt more and more horrible.

The door slid open. It was Android Shadow. He was smiling, bragging of his conquest over his _brother_, and marvelling at the little trophy he got from it. He tried making small talk with Hope, bringing up tales of Alice as he did so, but it was all for not. She knew why he was here. Time to get back to work...

She stood up from the bed she laid on, and remained silent. Android Shadow gave a smile, made a 'come hither' movement with his finger, and then exited the room swiftly.

What was the point? Why did she continue? She had... failed... failed her friends... her government... herself...

She didn't even care anymore. Stuck on some horrid island city, in the middle of the ocean, everyone who knows she's here is missing, captured, or dead. Why keep on...

Because Robotniks never give up... not on life, at least.

But she had given up. She was bending to her uncle's will. Why not? Just... just... why not...

She shuffled on her clothing, but she did so half assly. Her coat, the one her uncle gave her, was left unbuttoned and her body underneath was visible. She had opted not to wear a shirt beneath. She hadn't bothered to tie her shoes, nor had she bothered to do her hair. It remained frizzled and split, like she had her hairs pulled by something. On the floor, her so beloved wrench. She... she just didn't care...

She pushed her way through the door she was locked in. On the wall awaiting her was once again Android Shadow. He smiled, went on about killing his _brother_, mentioned Alice some more, marveled at the rifle in his hand, and then... grabbed her hand. As nice and soft as he could...

He led her down a long hallway, as usual. But Hope... she just didn't care. She looked to the ground. She must have looked so pathetic right about now.

"Aw, Hope dear!" her Uncle called, "Ready to work?"

Yeah... why not...

...

"Aw man... talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place..."

His white gloves began to rub his throbbing head. All he remembered was Chaos Blast, and darkness... how long had he been out? Odder still, there were lights all around him. He tried to look at them, but when his green eyes opened, he got a stinging amount of pain. He needed to get moving, but he couldn't. He was... chained down...

"Tails?" he said through the darkness in his eyes, "Amy? Anyone? Yoowhoo!"

He needed to assess the area, but boy was he in pain. Still... he pushed on.

Jade eyes opening, he got a sense of the area around. It was hexagonal shape, with the walls a silver steel. He was on a pedestal, and his shoes were replaced with heavier ones. He chuckled at the memories...

The lights that beamed into his eyes came from the pedestal below. Man... he'd sure feel better if they were gone... Where was he, and how did he get here? Well, it didn't take long for him to figure that out. His insane insignia was everywhere. That old egghead sure was narcissistic.

Despite as heavy as the shoes were, and as weak as he was, he gained the strength to stand. All the injuries he sustained in the battle against the Metal Shadow's hadn't been tended too. Sure, he had a few bandages, but it was pretty obvious whoever took care of him, didn't care in the slightest. He wasn't all too surprised. What, would Eggman have a change of heart suddenly, and take pity on his greatest foe? Not likely...

But Sonic wasn't someone to sit still. All jail houses have problems, all can be broken. He just needed to find his.

With one step, he walked off the pedestal he was placed on. His legs immediately buckled under the pressure, mainly due to his heavy shoes and the injuries of his body. Still, once he gained the power, he stood once more. He started to walk toward the walls of the room. With each step he took, his shoes made a heavy clanking noise. They really were heavy...

"Yo!" he called out in the wide room, "Anyone there?"

There was a few moments of silence, before he finally got an answer. From beyond the wall.

"Sonic? Is that you?"

He recognized that voice! Angry, rash, and lonely...

"Hey Knux!" he called out, "Boy, am I glad to hear you!"

What was the echidna doing here? Had he been captured by Eggman too?

"So... Eggman got you too, huh, Sonic?"

"He sent these robots after me," Sonic answered, "they were, metallic clones of Shadow!"

"Were they blue and green!?" Knuckles yelled, suddenly enticed.

"No... they were red and orange..."

"So there's more..."

"How did you get here, Knux?"

"I was guarding the Master Emerald as usual. I got bored and was about to go adventuring, but suddenly, these two Metal Shadows, one blue one green, attacked me! I fought them but... they knocked me out..."

"Whoa... same here... Shadow had come, trying to warn us that old Eggbutt was after us. He sent these two Metal Shadow's after us, one orange one red, and they used this attack Shadow uses... uh... Chaos Blast, or something, and boy... that did a number on me!"

"Urgh! That Eggman has gone too far this time! After I get out of here, I'll show him what for!"

"Hey Knux, how long have you been here?"

"I'm not sure... I woke up here not to long ago... I kept hearing screaming... but if sounded familiar, like a woman I know... I wanna say it was Rouge, but... I don't know..."

"You're smitten with that girl..."

"Whadyou say!?"

"Say Knux, why haven't you broken out yet?"

"They replaced my gloves with these balloon like things. Every punch I throw at the wall is so weak! It's like a love tap at best! What about you?"

"My shoes... they replaced it with these heavier ones. I'd try to spin dash, but... I'm too hurt to do so..."

Suddenly, the door opened. Sonic looked up, as a familiar metallic being stepped toward him.

"Sonic?" Knuckles called, "Sonic, what's wrong?"

The blue and silver being got closer, and closer, while his ember lit eyes beamed holes through Sonic. Always the cocky blue dude he was, he never showed fear, even as he stared in the face of certain death. He couldn't fight, not as injured as he was, and he was sure this blue demon before him was going to lay down a solid beat down. But still...

"Hey Metal Sonic," the blue blur said, "come up for another round?"

The blue demon shook his head. If he could speak, one would probably believe he would have said something malicious or sadistic. But no... Metal Sonic had nothing but pure hate for his _copy_. No words could have been used to express his dislike. Only actions.

Metal hand stretching forward, he grabbed the blue blur tightly by the neck. Sonic let out a groan of pain, as he was lifted up into the sky. With Metal Sonic's powerful grip lifting up, and the heavy shoes lifting down, he felt like his already weak body was going to be torn in half. And yet, he still showed no fear. Not now... not ever...

Metal Sonic pulled back his free hand, before holding it back dauntingly before Sonic. The speedy hero looked at the gesture, and merely chuckled. Metal Sonic didn't like that. Thrusting his fist forward, he planted a powerful punch in Sonic's gut. This attack could have easily crushed ten men alone, but Sonic was greater. Maybe it was because he was fighting his eternal clone. That's probably why. He refused to be bested by he who's nothing but steel.

"Is that, all you got?" Sonic said, whilst coughing.

Metal Sonic hated his voice. He hated his eyes, he hated his stance, he hated his smell, his breathing, his movement, his life, he hated everything about Sonic. Grabbing Sonic around the neck with both hands now, he began choking and choking and choking. Sonic's muffled breaths and wails, moved out into the air. Metal Sonic slammed his forever foe onto the ground, and continued his deadly constricting.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Knuckles yelled through the wall, "Sonic, what's going on!?"

He hedgehog tried to kick his blue foe off of him, but the heavy shoes ceased any attempt at that. For now, he'd just have to take it.

Metal Sonic's silver fingers started to grove their ways under Sonic's fur. Now, the blue dude could feel his clones cold limbs wrap around his pink skin underneath. Just a little more, Metal Sonic felt. Just a harder, longer, stronger show of force, and Sonic's eyes would be popping right out of his skull. He would have killed his copy, and he would have done what he always wanted to do.

But this wasn't how he wanted to do it...

Metal Sonic's grip released, and allowed Sonic to breathe. The hedgehog, partially gracious to not be dead, took the time to absorb as much air as he could. He breathed so long and so hard, like it was the last breaths he would ever take. And yet, his cocky demeanor never wavered.

"What," he said through coughs, "had a change of heart?"

No... not now... not ever...

It was a power thing. As the machine turned around, he faced the door he entered through. He wanted Sonic to be at his best. He wanted his _clone's_ defeated to be as glorious as his was so long ago at Stardust Speedway. He wanted Sonic to know, that he was better. He wanted all to know...

The door slid shut, and Metal Sonic was gone...

"That, was strange..." Sonic said, leaning up against the wall.

"What happened?" Knuckles questioned.

"Oh, Metal Sonic just tried choking me, is all..."

"Wh...what?"

"Nah... it's no biggy... I'm used to Amy doing that to me..."

A cold and unruly silence fell upon the duo, before a lighthearted laughter came from Knuckles. Soon after, Sonic joined in too... It was times like these where everything became instantly worth it.

...

The blue flames of the blow torch was her only solace. It dragged up and down the steel before her, forcibly fusing together the two pieces. It would be over soon. What would become of her, then? She was sure her Uncle wouldn't let her go back to G.U.N. as originally promised, so what next? Did it really matter? What did she have to go back to? She was a Robotnik now... might as well deal with it.

Pulling off the face mask, the blonde Robotnik gazed upon the massive creation of her and her Uncle's design. It was taking shape so soon, probably because of her rapid work on it. It would be finished soon. Give or take, a day or two.

Blue lights were streaking up and down its design, showing it was given power. But it was still unstable, as it wasn't completed yet. But as horrible as she felt, being forced to work upon such a thing, she knew that when it was completed, it would be amazing.

If only she could enjoy it, though. Not with him here... not with those green snake eyes.

"What's wrong Hope," his voice, so cold, so demonic, "given up already?"

She didn't give him the time of day, because she knew if she did, she'd suffer. Suffer... like he did...

"Aw, Hope, I'm talking to you."

Why was he doing this? Hadn't she felt horrible enough? Was killing her beloved enough torture?

But... she continued ignoring him... for now... Lifting a wrench, she started to screw in a bolt. With each spin, it got tighter and tighter, and harder to move. She used to love doing things like this, but not anymore...

Cold hands grabbed around her waist, causing her to tense up. They were sharp, cold, and rough. A malicious chuckle accompanied the hands, as they began moving up her body. How could she work under such pressure? She wanted him to leave, she just wanted to be alone. Better yet, she wish she wasn't here... she wished she had never been born.

That name, Robotnik, it was a curse! A curse upon all who owned it!

"Mephiles! Let her go!" a voice boomed.

She didn't look, she just remained determined on her work ahead.

"I have told you before," her uncle continued, "Hope is out-of-bounds!"

"Oh, Ivo," Mephiles said, "I was... just having a little fun..."

"You've had your fun," Eggman yelled, obviously mad, "Shadow's dead, why do you continue!?"

"With him gone, I only wish to watch our plans fall through... just a little while longer..."

"I have no need for a being like you, Mephiles," Eggman countered, "You can do as you please!"

"Not yet, Ivo..."

She heard his footsteps get closer.

"Hope, dear, are you alright?"

Why did he care? Was she not just some tool for him? A tool used to get Shadow here, so he could... dispose of him? She hated him just as much as she hated herself.

"Go away, Mephiles!" Eggman ordered with a wave of his hand.

"As you wish, Ivo..."

She didn't watch him leave, but she felt his presence dissipate. Good... she hated him...

"Hope, are you okay?" Eggman asked, his arm moving along her shoulders.

She tried to ignore him, but she couldn't anymore. Head moving up, she gazed at him with her blue eyes. They had lost that shined they always had. No more were they beautiful and blue, but more hurt and devastated. There was a dark, deep, dullness in them, as if the happiness had been washed out.

"I mean nothing to you, do I?" she said, her voice hoarse.

Eggman was taken aback by her words. He gazed off, blue eyes behind glasses, and dragged his hand against his bald head.

"Hope, don't say that..."

She didn't make any movements, and remained still. What happens when Hope, looses hope?

"I just want to know..." she murmured, "Can you give me that, at least?"

"You're a Robotnik, Hope," he answered, "you mean a lot to me."

"Then... why did you release Mephiles upon me?"

"He wasn't supposed to hurt you," he answered, "he was only supposed to gain your shade. That way he'd be able to infiltrate the G.U.N. base and give me the schematics on the Solaris Project. That was it... but... he... didn't stop there..." she looked up to him, "It was clear to me at first that Mephiles was insane. He wanted Shadow killed above all else, and he made that known."

"Then... why did he help you with everything else?"

"It was a deal we made. Mephiles would give me the schematics to create this great time machine, all I needed to do was bring Shadow, and the rest of Team Dark, to him. My Egg Carrier plan was simple, but of course you were there and Shadow escaped the trap to find you. Still, Mephiles was sure he would get his way, so long as I kept his friends."

"How did you meet Mephiles?"

"He came to me, out of the blue... He constantly went on about events that he claims happened, but my documents prove didn't. He said he came from a timeline that had been erased thanks to Sonic and the princess of Soleanna. Or is she Queen now? Hm... Anyway, Mephiles came from said timeline, and asked me if he wanted to control time. Me being me, of course I wanted to! His mission was simple, as I said, I give him Shadow, he gives me plans."

"But... why did all of this deal with me? Did he ever mention me doing anything to him?"

"Mephiles said he wanted Shadow to suffer... Every aspect of his life, he wanted to ruin... I guess that entails you... I never thought about it though. Why would Shadow care for you?"

Hope felt hurt by those words. But... her uncle had a point. Why would Shadow care for her? She kept her feelings for him secret... but... still...

She lifted her wrench, and continued tightening the bolts of the creation. Just a little time and she'd be freed from this world. How though... she wasn't sure...

"I'm sorry, Hope," Eggman said, patting her shoulders down, "I didn't want all of this to happen to you..."

Could he be trusted? No matter what he said, he _did _use her to trap Shadow and have him killed. But did these new words hold any weight? Were they fact, or fiction? Truth or lies? Whether they were or not, Hope didn't care... she wouldn't believe him anymore.

"I hate you..." she murmured, eyes squinting.

The doctor heard her, of course.

"Just like Colin," he said, "always hating me."

Hope may have been weak and frail, but no one, _no one_, mentions her father. She leaped up, spun around, and shot her uncle a glare. She was crying too... she did that so fast.

"Don't talk about my father like that!" she yelled, "Don't ever do that!"

Eggman merely scoffed, and held her down.

"You hold Colin up with such high regards, Hope," he said, "when you know deep down inside he was just as bad as me."

She wanted to strike him down. She wanted to slap the hell out of him, but his grip was so great, he merely held her down.

"Colin was a racist, Hope," he said, "he hated Mobians more than any man I ever knew. But he had values, and he held his family up higher than anything else. I remember when I came up with the roboticization process all those years ago. I told him we could be free of mobians forever, but he was so distrustful. He knew I wouldn't stop at getting rid of the blasted furry creatures, and only continue to humans. I guess he was right though." he released his grip on Hope, "The Eggman Empire would rise..."

Slowly, he turned away, and faced the hallway exit. But before he left, Hope called out to him.

"Where is my father?" she questioned.

Eggman stopped. Brushing his mustache, he said to her,

"That's right, he was dead by the time you were born..."

That was it... he never gave her an answer.

Once his overbearing nature disappeared through the hall, Hope shifted her attention downward. Her father... a racist against mobians. She'd be insulted had it not been so true. Why was fate so ironic toward her? She wanted Shadow alive, he's dead, her Uncle is a known dictator, she wants nothing but peace, her father hated mobians, she is in love with one... well, _was_, in love with one...

She started crying. She hadn't done so since Metal Sonic held her back. She felt horrible... everything in her life was destined to crash down, wasn't it? Wasn't it!?

Why?

Why!?

WHY!?

No more! She was going to take things by the reins! Turning around toward the porthole, she started working. Did anyone see the crazed grin on her lips? Maybe, but she didn't care.

Working...

Working...

Working...

She was a Robotnik now... and it was time she started acting like one...

The gleams in her eyes returned...

She had gained back her hope...

...

Footsteps...

They ran down the long hall, together. His hand, on hers.

Her fearful gasps for breath were only pushing him on.

Every now and then, he'd gaze back to her face, and the men chasing them. He was faster, but they had greater numbers. They needed to find their way to the escape chamber, and quick. Only God knew what was going on. But God wasn't here? How could he be? How could he allow something like this?

"The target is fleeing with a civilian!"

Finally, they had arrived. Why did everything feel so much darker than usual? Bah, it didn't matter. They'd get into an escape pod, rocket to Earth, and be safe amongst the land. Forever...

"Shadow!"

"Maria?"

A gunshot...

"Maria!? MARIA!?"

...

Maria!

His ruby eyes shot open.

Oh no... not another nightmare like that... He hadn't had a Maria nightmare since that whole business with the Black Arms. He had grown beyond that... Right?

Where was he?

His body, specifically his gut, was wrapped around in coils. In fact, so was his head. It too was wrapped around in a white coil. He couldn't see it, but he could feel it.

What happened to him? He couldn't remember it too well... Did he get shot?... maybe... He remembered getting stabbed, but... boy... why was it so hard to remember things?

And where was he? He forgot all about figuring that one out! It was so hard to focus! All he could think about was Maria, gunshots, his body, and the coils wrapped around him. And a kiss... from... from... Hope...

Hope? Where was she? Hope? Hope!?

But... that still didn't explain where he was at. Why was it so hard to keep a straight thought going? Ruby eyes squinting, he got ready. No matter what, whether he be dead or dying, he'd always take the initiative.

With a loud and audible groan, he lurched himself up. That may have been the stupidest thing he could have done in this position, as he felt pain soar through his body, and a headache triggered in his head. It was like an earthquake was rumbling inside of him. Maybe laying down was a better alternative. But at least, he had a good vision of his area.

The floors were clean and marble. Halls had archways reminiscent of Gothic designs, while a color scheme of white laid on the walls. On the floor, the imprint of a Chaos Emerald. Shadow recognized this place, though it took a while for him to put the pieces together. He lived here.

"How'd I get here?" he questioned.

For a few more seconds, silence was his answer... and then he heard heavy metallic footsteps. It was coming down from one of the dark, unlit halls. Shadow was in no position to fight. What was he going to do? He couldn't even move without hurting himself, so what now?

The footsteps got only closer. Through the shadows, he could see a two floating teal eyes. They gleamed through the darkness, and aimed directly onto Shadow's figure. He needed to get out, or else...

"Shadow?"

The voice was so familiar, but... distorted as well. And yet, he could still remember it.

"Rouge?" he said.

Why did he feel like he wasn't going to like what he saw?

The first thing he saw was her boots. The mechanical feet of this machine before him were high heels, with pink heart-shaped tips. They were bigger, and bulkier, and led up into skinny, silver legs. The ball joints that were its knees were round and curvy giving so much movement freedom. The next thing Shadow noticed was the heart-shaped chest. It was busty, just like a certain bat he knew. The shoulders were more pronounced, with armor like plating around it. Just like the knees, it had ball joints on its elbows. The slender black arms this machine had were attached to hands with bulky gauntlets over them. These gauntlets let out black fingers too, with sharp dagger like appendages at the end. And finally, its face... he would remember that face, no matter how cold and mechanical it was. With bat ears that no longer move, and hair that was now singular and sharp, he knew her. And her wings... they were longer, sharper, and deadlier.

"Rouge?" he questioned as he looked upon the machine before him.

She made no movements, and merely gazed into his ruby eyes. He couldn't believe his eyes. Was this Rouge? No, it had to be some sick joke! What happened while he was out!?

"Shadow?" she said.

Everything remained silent for a while, before Shadow spoke up.

"What happened? What's going on!?"

She shook her head at first, before moving her teal lit eyes down.

"Oh, Shadow..."

Her voice, while robotic, was filled with so much remorse. She lifted her black hands, and placed them firmly on her robotic head. Her face never shifted from that singular visage, but Shadow could tell how distraught she was. If she could cry, she'd be doing so right now.

"You have no idea how good it is, to see you are alright..." Rouge stated, gazing back up.

"Rouge," Shadow said, his voice comforting, "what happened to you?"

Slowly lifting her foot, she got closer and closer. And then she hugged him tightly. Shadow's body was so fragile at the time, he almost snapped at the pressure. Still, he remained strong against the bone crushing pain.

"Android Shadow did this to me..." she said, as her hug ended, "He made me into a robot, like him."

"Why?"

"You're clone is insane," she stated, "he was in love with me, and wanted me to be just like him. So, he took me to one of Robotnik's old Roboticization machines, and made me into... this..."

Android Shadow is insane?... Figures... Shadow wasn't that surprised...

"I hate this body!" Cyber Rouge cried, gazing down to herself, "I can't smell, I can't taste, I can't... Shadow, I can't even touch! I can only see and hear... Every minute, I learn something new about this body! And the maintenance used to keep this thing functioning is maddening! I can't sleep like any normal person! I have to shuffle through my program files to find the sleep command, then I have to wait thirty minutes for my body to square everything away! Did I mention everything in my body has files associated with it!? Everything! My memories, my likes, my dislikes! Everything I've ever known has been giving a file, and a place on it in my mind!" she covered her eyes, "And all my senses have been heighten to near unbearable heights. I can hear things so simple, it drives me mad! Have you ever heard a fly's wings flap? It should be so low, but I can hear it! I can hear someone blink over a mile away, and I can hear the waves of water crash on the other side of the planet! Fortunately, I can tune down the frequency and strength of my hearing, but that doesn't take account my eyesight! I have over twenty-seven different modes of eyesight! Lock on features, infra-red, bio scans, inverted, and it just keeps going! Shadow, I-"

He hugged her. What happened? Cyber Rouge was just spilling her guts, and he hugged her. Shadow doesn't hug anyone.

"I'm not sure if it's because my head hurts, but," he pulled away and looked into her eyes, "everything's going to be alright, Rouge..."

So strange... usually, she needed to comfort Shadow, whether it be for his past or something else... but now, he was comforting her.

"I'm sorry I acted that way..." Cyber Rouge murmured, "You're the first person I've talked to since I... changed..."

"I understand..." Shadow answered, "Believe me, I know how it feels to be an android... I thought I was one for a little while..."

For a while silence grew between them, before Rouge laughed. Seconds later, Shadow joined in too. It was little moments like these that made everything instantly worth it. But... they had bigger things to attend to.

"What happened Rouge?" he questioned, "Why am I in coils like this? How did I get here?"

"You don't remember?" she questioned, teal eyes looking up.

"No."

"Well... it makes sense... you did get shot in the head, after all..."

"I got what!?"

"Shot, in the head, by Android Shadow..."

"Are you sure!? I can't remember that!"

"That's because you were shot in the head!"

"But, I'm pretty sure I'd remember being shot in the head."

"Obviously you don't remember it!"

With a groan, he looked down.

"If I was shot in the head," he said rubbing the coil, "then why did you wrap me up down there?"

"Wow... that bullet to the head did a number on you. Remember? You fought this... thing, named Mephiles. He created this blade from his hand and impaled you with it."

"Okay, now I know you're lying. What's a Mephiles?"

Rouge's teal eyes shot a glare. Lifting her finger, she tapped the side of her muzzle.

"I am Mephiles!" her voice had changed so horribly. No longer was it the sultry distortion that it was before, but now it was low sadistic and manly, "Mephiles the Dark! Now do you remember!?"

Tapping her muzzle again, she said,

"That was a recording of his voice, now do you remember?"

"Somewhat..." he crossed his arms, "I remember... a grayed out Hope... if that makes any sense..."

"It doesn't..." she answered.

"Well, we need to hurry," Shadow stood, despite himself, "we need to get back to Genocide City..." his voice had become strained, "We've gotta save Hope, Omega, and stop the Doctor..."

A second later, he buckled under the pressure. Rouge held him up though, so he wouldn't fall into the ground.

"How do you suspect we do that?" Rouge said, "We're only two people... and from what I've read, you've been suspended."

"Wait," Shadow murmured, "how do you know that?"

"I hacked into G.U.N.'s database... I can do that now... something my robotic body is good at... not only that, but G.U.N. Commander is in the hospital, he suffered a heart attack, not to long ago. If we try to return to G.U.N. base under your words, your actions will be branded as AWOL, and you'll be dishonorably discharged. Not only that, but Angel Island has been spotted back on the ocean waves, meaning the Master Emerald was taken. I'm sure Eggman has it, and Knuckles."

"Great, is everything falling down?"

"So... we just have us two... What do we do now?"

Slowly, he broke from her grasp, and stood on his own. What do they do now? The only help he thought about was Amy and Tails, and they're too injured to keep fighting. What to do... what to do...

"Rouge," Shadow said, "I had a Chaos Emerald on me... where is it?"

Her teal eyes flickered. From her heart-shaped chest, a compartment opened up. Inside said slot, the Chaos Emerald Shadow had.

"I have so many compartments on me its scary..." Rouge murmured.

Shadow merely chuckled, and took the emerald from her chest.

"With allies, or not," he stated, "we have a job to do. If we don't stop the Doctor, no one will." he began focusing, "Besides, he thinks I'm dead, and he has no idea what you can do as a robot." the emerald began flashing, "He won't know what hit him!"

The red emerald started to flash and flash. Shadow raised it up high, gave an angry scowl, and yelled out,

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

And in a flash, he and Cyber Rouge were gone.

"By the by," Rouge's voice floated through space, "you never told me how you healed back so fast... you were only shot a day or two ago..."

"I'm the Ultimate Life form," he answered smugly, "it'll take more than a gunshot to kill me!"

* * *

_Trivia Time!_

_Yeah, this has been a while... well, for me, at least._

_Well, a lot has happened since my last bit of trivia, and I can tell from my reviews you all are just aching to learn what's next. I swear, I love my reviewers._

_Any way, on to the trivia!_

_The original tittle of this little (well... more like long) chapter was Awakenings. It was supposed to show what happened to everyone after the little battle at Genocide City. More importantly, this chapter was supposed to show what happened to Knuckles and Sonic since they were captured. I know it isn't much, but I felt good showing everyone that they were okay. I also wanted to show what was going on with the G.U.N. Commander after his Mephiles induced heart attack, but I opted not to. Maybe in a future chapter._

_Also in this chapter, I made a little reference to a little known Sonic game. Or maybe its well know... oh well... Any way, in this chapter Sonic has heavier shoes that reduces his speed. That's the plot line of the Sega Game Gear game, Sonic Labyrinth In it, Sonic has been given shoes for his birthday. What he didn't know was that these shoes were given to him by Dr. Robotnik. The shoes reduce his speed, and in order for Sonic to take them off, he has to go and defeat many labyrinths Robotnik set out for him. The whole game revolves around how good your spin dash skills are, as you have to traverse using the deadly action. Its a tough game, and from what I've heard, many people disliked it. I loved it though. The only thing I hated about it was the ending! No one told my those secret gates gave me a different ending! I just though they were extra bullcrap!_

_Anyway, ranting aside, I hope you enjoyed the chapter._

_Until the next one..._

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	15. Break Out

Break Out

Tapping, tapping, tapping...

Sonic's balled fist tapped endlessly on the wall. He'd been captured by Eggman before, and honestly, he was sure he'd be captured again. But his many kidnaps had made him genre savvy. He knew everything about Eggman's architecture, and how to exploit the weakness it had. He may not be able to run, but he was able to think.

"What are you doing?" Knuckles questioned as the many taps drove him mad.

"I'm trying to break out of here, Knucklehead!" Sonic answered, "Unless you plan on staying in here for ever."

"That doesn't explain the tapping!" he yelled back, "What are you doing!?"

"I'm sure there's a weak wall around here somewhere," Sonic answered, "Eggbutt sucks at creating stable walls."

The tapping grew.

"But could you calm it down?" Knuckles questioned, "The noise reverberates off of the walls, its driving me insane!"

"Reverberates? Wow Knux, I didn't know you knew such a big word!"

"Whadyou say!?"

"Shh! I think I found something!"

Slamming his fist down, he began to hear something odd. He knocked on a wall from before. It made a 'BOK!' noise. He tapped the wall that felt different. It made a 'CLOCK!' noise. That was odd. So far, ever wall made the 'BOK!' noise, why was this one different.

"Yo Knux," he called, "come over here..."

He heard the heavy echidna groan, stand up, and shuffle his way toward him.

"Ok, now what?" he questioned.

"Tap it..."

"Sonic, my gloves!"

"Well, use your head..."

"Fine then, but stand back."

For a few seconds there was silence, save for Knuckles footsteps. Sonic leaned on the wall, awaiting Knuckles' tap, when suddenly, a strong force bounced off the wall. The force was so great, it threw Sonic away.

"What the hell!?" he yelled, "Knuckles what was that!?"

For a few more seconds there was silence, before he got his answer.

"Oh..." Knuckles grumbled, "I think I hurt my head..."

"Knux did you actually use your head!?" Sonic questioned, astonished.

"You told me to!" he barked back.

"I was being figurative! Like, think of a way to tap, not ram it!"

"Ugh, it doesn't matter," Knuckles said, "I think this wall is different. I caused a dent in it."

Sonic scanned the wall a bit closer now. Knuckles was right, he did cause a dent. Perfect! Years of this, and old Eggbut still hasn't learned to build a formidable wall.

"Yo Knux," Sonic said, a certain cockiness in his voice, "how's your Spin Dash skills?"

"Better than yours!" he roared back.

"Prove it! Together, at the wall!"

Though he couldn't see the fiery echidna, he just knew he nodded. Together, they prepared to rush the wall. Sonic crouched down, and began spinning. The loud noise of his body creating kinetic energy bounced off of the walls. On the other side, he heard Knuckles spin too.

"On three!" he suddenly yelled out, "3!... 2!... 1!... GO!"

Red and blue dashed forward.

Almost immediately, they bounced off. Their attack didn't very little... or so it seemed. The wall was made brittle by the dual strikes. Sonic grinned.

"AGAIN!" he yelled out.

Just like before they began spinning.

"On three!" the blue hero yelled out, "3!... 2!... 1!... GO!"

Once again, red and blue dashed forward.

The spinning super powers struck the walls with so much force, they caused even more dents to form. Still, the metallic wall stood, despite everything. Sonic landed back after the strike. He was getting tired so much faster than usual. Maybe he should've taken the time out to rest before he attempted this. Even if he and his red ally escaped, they'd probably have to face his blue clone.

Regardless... It was either now, or never...

"AGAIN!" he yelled out.

Crouching once more, they began spinning. The noise was getting so much louder than usual.

"On three!" he reiterated, "3!... 2!... 1!... GO!"

The blue and red flashes were so much faster. They struck the wall at speeds unnoticeable, and began rittling it with their powerful bodies. Up and down the wall, the dents of their attacks formed, and the wall started shaking. When Sonic and Knuckles bounced back, they glared forward toward the weakened wall.

It had begun shaking over and over again. The dents they created appeared to be to much for the steel barrier to handle. The loud noise of bending metal echoed through the hexagonal walls. They could hear bolts and screws be loosened from their place, and fall to the ground. Both Sonic and Knuckles moved away from the wall cautiously, while at the same time keeping their eyes trained on it.

And then it fell...

It started tipping on Sonic's side, and ultimately fell atop the pedestal Sonic awoke on. On the other side of the wall, another room. Soon after, Knuckles poked his red-head over the doorways side. That's why the wall sounded differently from the others. That was the wall he shared with Knuckles.

"Hey Sonic," the Master Emerald guardian called, "you okay?"

"Always!" he cockily replied.

They would have run up to each other, but Sonic's shoes ruined any chances of that. So instead, they walked up, and shook each other's hands.

"Sweet gloves." Sonic teased.

"Nice kicks." Knuckles replied.

They began laughing together, as if some one had told a silly joke.

"C'mon," Sonic said, grinning, "let me help you get those off."

Grabbing onto Knuckles balloon gloves, he started pulling with all his might. The gloves were on their pretty tight though, causing Sonic to come up with a better idea. Gazing down to his white-gloved hands, he began vibrating them at high speeds. Grinning, he grabbed a hold of Knuckles balloon hands, and started to move them at high speeds. At the velocity it was moving, the gloves began to loosen around Knuckle's wrists. Seconds later, they slipped off easily.

Knuckles looked down to his freed hands with a monstrous grin. So did Sonic. Slowly, the red echidna lifted his fist, and drove them downward at high speeds. His fist collided with Sonic's heavier shoes, and immediately crushed them. They shattered into pieces at his toes, freeing the blue blur from his slow stature. Sonic glared down to the socks on his feet, and immediately felt a rush of speed return.

"Oh yeah!" he said, smirking, "Let's get outta here!"

Green and purple eyes were thus filled with resolution. Turning toward the exit of the jail cell, they rushed forward.

...

What is this place?

This old hut in the middle of Holoska's ice lands was weird. It was so far removed from other villages, it was easily spotted. And yet, it looked so lonely, so abandoned.

"Shadow?" Cyber Rouge questioned as her robotic boots crushed the icy snow, "What are we doing here?"

Rubbing the coils around his body, he answered with,

"Remember when we split up? After that whole Metal Sonic business? Well... I did a little soul-searching, as I tried to figure out who was I... I stayed here..."

He started walking forward.

So this was where Shadow stayed? Rouge had always wondered where her black and red ally was after she split with the group. In fact, as she thought of it, the first time she saw Shadow was when he popped up in hyper space during the Black Arms invasion... or was it at Death Ruins where they reunited? After this was done, she'd need to search over her memory files.

The sultry bat always did feel bad for abandoning him and Omega though. Unlike the murderous machine, however, Shadow had no idea what to do, or where to go. She should have, at least, offered him a place to stay, but she was sure he would have said no anyway. Seeing he had a home was a bit calming to the nerves, but not much. Well... she was making up for it now.

"Rouge?" Shadow called, turning to her, "Are you coming?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry... I dazed off a bit..."

"You might want to keep your servers checked..." Shadow murmured, a teasing grin following.

Rouge would have struck him down for such a comment, but with his injured body, he would escape pain for now.

The black and red hedgehog's hand fell onto the shacks door, and forced it open. Once he found the light switch, he gave life to the small structure. Stepping in, Cyber Rouge took the time to scan the area. Her eyes changing from teal, to green, she showed she was in scan mode. A targeting parameter appeared in her eyesight, and everything it crossed between, it scanned thoroughly. Had this been on her scouter, and not in her eyes, she would have found this kind of cool. Regardless...

"Shadow, this place is really dusty..." she said.

"Yeah... I haven't been here in a while. The last time I set foot in here... may have been after that whole Emerl incident... though I'm not too sure... That bullet to the head is making it hard to remember things..."

He moved over to the wardrobe at the other end of the shack. His fingers moved up and down the wardrobe's body, before centering on the keyhole. With a groan, he realized he had lost the keys. So, in lieu of opening it the right way, he lifted his hand, and prepared for a devastating chop to the aged piece of furniture. Fortunately, Rouge stopped him before he could do it. Green eyes scanning the keyhole, she suddenly lifted her index finger. To Shadow's surprise, the digit opened up, and produced a small key. She slid the key into the keyhole, turned it, and sent a lovely 'CLICK!' noise through the shack. Seconds later, the wardrobe opened.

"Impressive..." Shadow said, giving a small, inaudible clap.

"Yeah... maybe this body isn't so bad... still want to be normal though."

"Don't worry Rouge," Shadow said, "we'll find a way."

"But not before I give that Android a piece of my mind!"

Her eye flashed red.

Tapping her on the shoulder in an effort to calm her down, Shadow stepped forward. His ruby eyes moved up and down the wardrobe's contents, taking in each and everything he laid within. Cyber Rouge took to the time out to scan these things as well.

"Shadow," she murmured, "where did you get all of these things from?"

Save for the Heal Cannon, each weapon within the wardrobe leveled on an unmeasurable level of danger in her head. The Satellite Gun, the Egg vacuum, the Omochao Gun, and the Samurai Sword, each one was just so... destructive. Where did Shadow get these from?

Lifting up the Heal Cannon, he handed it to his ally. She scanned it closely, but was still ignorant of what he wanted her to do with in. A second later, he pointed the muzzle of the weapon to himself.

"Rouge," he said, "be a dear and shoot me with this, please?"

"You want me to do what!?"

"Shoot me with this..." he reiterated.

"Shadow, isn't that kinda... I dunno... stupid?"

"It's a Heal Cannon," he murmured, "created by my father years ago. It does nothing but heal, I promise..."

Eyes once again turning green, she scanned it more thoroughly. Though everything came out as safe, she still felt a bit apprehensive.

"Rouge..." Shadow said, growing impatient.

"Fine then!" she yelled, "But don't get mad at me if it kills you!"

Finger squeezing on the trigger, she fired. A second later, the entire area was filled with this nerve calming, body healing, even sweet-smelling, light blue aura. Rouge could feel her body grow calm at the feel. Doing a quick body scan, everything in her body came back with 100% efficiency.

"Wow..." she said, looking down to herself.

"Maria always loved this thing..." Shadow said taking the cannon from her hands, "She said it was father's greatest invention..."

A second later, his hand found his coils. With a quick movement, he tore them off. Rouge let out a yelp, but calmed down quickly. The wound he had, from Mephiles' stab, was completely gone. Seconds later, he removed the coil on his head. The bullet wound there, had vanished too. It was as if he never got in a fight in the first place.

"Amazing, isn't it?" he said, placing the Heal Cannon back into the wardrobe.

"I don't get it," Cyber Rouge said, "Shadow, why do you keep this here?"

"Always be prepared," he answered, easily enough, "I keep this place a secret from everyone... the weapons inside are to great, and I only take them out when really necessary." slowly, he withdrew the Satellite Gun, and the Samurai Sword, "Though I might bring the Heal Cannon back with me when this mission ends... I could use it..."

Nonchalantly, he handed his roboticized ally the Satellite Gun. She grasped it quickly, but almost immediately wanted nothing to do with it. It just felt to powerful for her to use. Turning to Shadow, she began to speak, but silenced herself. He was at the shacks door, blade in hand, and he waved it around with deadly accuracy. It was like they were going to war...

"Are you sure about this?" she said, gaining the strength to speak, "I mean... giving me this..."

"I'm positive," he answered, "if anyone could use it... it's you..."

Looking back down to he weapon, she let out a low, mechanical, sigh. Seconds later, a slot appeared in her elbow. It slid out, she placed the Satellite Gun within, and then it slid back in.

"How many of those do you have?" Shadow questioned.

"You don't wanna know... so what next?"

Shadow laid his fists on his hips, then laid his fingers on his chin. With a grin, he answered with,

"Invade, duh."

Lifting his red glove, he tapped a near invisible button on it. Seconds later, he gestured to Rouge with his hands for her to follow him. Hm...

The Aura Borealis is so beautiful this time of year...

...

Far away in the G.U.N. parking lot, it came to life...

Its headlights gleamed to life and shined a bright white light through the dark lot. It whirred to life, and let out a maddening scream. Without a pilot it started to move through the rows of silent vehicles, as if driven by a ghost. Once it found the exit, it started to drive off toward the levitating moon. Seconds later, it transformed. The treads folded into the vehicle, from the sides, wings jutted out, while from the back, thrusters opened up. The G.U.N. vehicle took off skyward, and dashed off with an intense show of force, its black, red, and white streaks dashing in the wind.

The Phantom Cruiser... it lives!

...

Egg Pawns walked alongside each other, as their robotic eyes gazed skyward. They were carrying many objects as they had to rebuild things destroyed in Shadow's recent rampage. They were working diligently enough, and things were coming together at a relatively quick pace...

Then again... maybe quick was the wrong word to use...

A blue streak dashed between the robots, dismantling them at speeds unseen. When Gunbots flew down to investigate the sudden carnage, they were taken down by a massive boulder that appeared from seemingly nowhere. The alarms started blasted... Good...

Sonic reformed seconds later. Gazing down the massive halls, he let out a much need laugh.

"Took long enough!" he yelled, enjoying his recent destruction, "I was waiting for someone to notice we were out."

Crossing his arms, he awaited his red ally to show up. Knuckles fell seconds later, his purple eyes filled with visible anger.

"I can't wait to get my hands on that fat baboon!" Knuckles yelled, "I can even feel him abusing the powers of the Master Emerald!"

"So correct, Knucklehead!" a certain voice roared.

A flying screen appeared seconds later. On said screen, the man of the hour. Eggman spent his time, brushing his long mustache, while a certain annoyed glare laid on his face.

"So you've escaped," he murmured, "I can't say I'm surprised..."

"EGGMAN!" Knuckles yelled, "Where is my Emerald!"

"Its just such a one track mind with you, isn't it?"

Suddenly, a group of Gunbots appeared, weapons trained on their foes.

"Please," Eggman continued, a grin growing, "follow my robots, they'll direct you to your beloved Emerald."

Sonic began chuckling.

"Uh, no, sorry 'bout that Eggbut," suddenly, in a blue blur, he dashed around and destroyed each robot around him, "We'll find our own way."

More robots appeared from down the hall, guns drawn. In blue and red streaks, Sonic and Knuckles destroyed the arriving Gunbots. The hall was quickly being filled with fallen pieces of scrap and metal. They were a natural destroying pair, anything that came their way, they ended. That was, until Sonic stopped at a door.

"Yo Knux, wait!" he yelled, stopping his ally from punching a bot.

"What Sonic!?" he yelled, dodging a laser from a foe.

"I think I found our things."

Opening said door, he came into a room filled with various weapons. Not caring in the slightest for the Eggman weapons (which looks like toys by the way), he made his way to the back. He could still hear Knuckles battling, meaning he had to be quick. Good thing Sonic is faster than 'quick'. Dashing around the room, he found the red and white sneakers he coveted so much. Holding them in his hands, he hugged them close while a smile came to his lips. Time to get going...

Moving at high speeds, he slipped on the red shoes, and dashed back out of the armory.

"Yo Knux, catch!" he yelled, tossing forward the spiky gloves.

Knuckles leaped up and caught them in mid-air. Sliding them on, he felt so rejuvenated with power. With gloves attached, he started slamming his foes with a flurry of megaton punches. He was so efficient, Sonic was left just watching in awe. No matter how strong the robot was, the echidna would crush it with a single blow. Once the hall was devoid of all robotic life, Knuckles pulled his hands in close.

"I missed you!" he said, smiling at the gloves.

"Enough!" Sonic said, "Let's get a move on!"

Dashing off, they made their way through the many halls of the Egg Palace.

...

Hope pulled her head up.

The alarms were so loud and so obnoxious, she hated how it ruined her sleep.

Gazing out the window, she saw it was still night. Yes, she could tell the difference between day and night, even with Genocide City's eternal storms. Didn't make her feel any better about being awake though. What was going on?

The door slid opened, revealing a very angry Android Shadow.

"Hope," he said, looking out the doorway to the hall, "it seems we are having a bit of trouble..."

"What's going on..." she murmured, pulling the covers up on her body.

"Two prisoners have escaped... as you would believe, the Doctor wants to make sure you don't get any... _ideas_..."

"Fine, just give me some time to dress..."

"I don't think-"

"Android..." she interrupted.

"Fine... but make it quick..."

The door slid close once again.

Hopping from the bed, she quickly put on the clothing she was given. Red jacket, white undershirt, black pantyhose, and red skirt. She did it so quickly, she nearly forgot to grab her trusty wrench. Once that was on her person, she exited the room she was staying in. Android Shadow was standing on the wall opposite of her, his hands placed firmly on the Shadow Rifle. He cocked it back, before laying it firmly on his shoulder.

"Let's go..." he murmured.

Hope hadn't the slightest clue who was escaping or invading, but from the sounds of destruction resonating through the palace, she knew they meant business. Good... she was happy her Uncle was getting his comeuppance.

Android Shadow walked behind Hope as she trekked down the long palace hall. The Android kept his ruby eyes trained on everything, and especially tensed up when explosions would occur. For right now, Hope was his primary target. He had to make sure she was alright.

After a minute of walking, they arrived at the command center. Eggman was sitting on his command center, his eyes filled with anger.

"They just had to escape, didn't they?" he grumbled to himself.

"Doctor," Android Shadow called as he walked up, "what should we do now?"

"We need to hurry up, Sonic and Knuckles are arriving as we speak, we need to complete construction of the Time Gate..."

"Do we have enough time?" Android questioned.

"I'll make time..."

Snapping his fingers, the dictator yelled out,

"Metal Shadow Force! To me!"

Silver streaks dashed around the room and in no time flat, the four members of the Metal Shadow Force arrived. All of them immediately fell to their knees, in a bowing stance to their creator.

"Metal Shadows," Eggman said, growing tense, "we have two escapees who need to be put back into place... Eliminate them!"

They nodded. Standing up, they prepared to hunt down their foes. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your outlook, their prey had already arrived.

"Hey Eggbutt!" Sonic yelled, dashing up into the room.

His cool exterior never faltered, even as he was surrounded by his foes. The Metal Shadows immediately aimed their guns toward him. And yet, the blue dude's attitude never wavered.

"So, the party's just started, huh," he commented, walking up, "oh well, I always figured I was the life of the party..."

The Metal Shadows weren't having any of his foolishness though. Almost immediately, the blue one fired, sending a hail of bullets Sonic's way. Grinning, Sonic disappeared in a blue blur. For a few moments, the Metal Shadows lost sight of their foe, that was until he reappeared on a ceiling structure.

"You're too slow!" he yelled out cockily.

The orange Metal Shadow aimed forth his rocket launcher. The red beam aiming on Sonic's head, it fired. The rocket was fast, but of course, Sonic was faster. He disappeared in another blue flash, causing the rocket to miss, and detonate against the roof. Moments later, Sonic reappeared on the floor.

"That's it..." Android Shadow said, growing annoyed, "I'll deal with this..."

Pointing forth his Shadow Rifle, he took aim. Sonic's face... grew shocked and confused.

"Hey..." he said, green eyes gazing beyond Android Shadow, "What are you doing here?"

He was referring to Hope of course.

He never got his answer, as Android Shadow fired before he could get an answer. Leaping out-of-the-way, the yellow bolt hit the ground, and caused an explosion which took out many command consoles.

"NO!" Eggman cried, "Stop destroying my things!"

"Not gonna happen, Eggman!" Knuckles yelled.

The aged doctor turned to left, to see Knuckles preparing one of his massive punches. When he threw it forward, he was deflected by a green Metal Shadow. His attack blocked, Knuckles leaped back in order to put some distance between himself and his foe.

"You again..." he murmured, rage in his teeth.

But Metal Shadows are without memory, so too, are they without mercy.

Not caring for his once foe, the Metal Shadow lunged forward with a deadly kick. Knuckles easily deflected it, but was unprepared for a strike from behind by the red Metal Shadow. He was made dazed by the hard-hitting punch, but was still conscious enough to dodge an oncoming strike.

Sonic, however, was busy dodging gun fire and missile fire, from the blue and orange Metal Shadows. He danced up and down the walls as he made the two robots work worthless. He was so flawless, but still... why was that... Hope girl here?

"Get behind me, Hope," Android Shadow said, aiming forth his rifle, "Let's see you dodge this, faker!"

Aiming forth the rifle, he began firing round after round from the Shadow Rifle. Just like his allies's shots, his were misses as well. The only thing they did well was send fire and debris everywhere, much to his creator's ire.

"Yo!" Sonic questioned, coming to a stop, "Where's Metal Sonic? I was sure he'd be here!"

"I'll be your foe today, faker!" Android Shadow yelled, "So don't think about Metal Sonic."

"There's only one person I allow to call me faker!" Sonic yelled, growing angry, "And though you look like him, you're nothing but some clone!"

"I'm better than _him!_" the Android yelled, "I'll show you!"

Hands coursing with energy, he started charging up. He locked his ruby eyesight on Sonic, pulled back his hands, and then launched forward a series of yellow bolts. The Chaos Spears danced through the air, and yet failed to touch Sonic in the slightest.

Dammit he was fast!

The battling was only growing in intensity. Knuckles was over here, dodging gunfire from Metal Shadows, while Sonic was over there, dodging attacks from the other Metal Shadows. Eggman needed to hurry. Just a few more hours, and the Time Gate would be complete. Just a little more time...

He got up from his seat, then scurried over to his niece. She was watching the battle like it was a pay per view fight! She could be heard rooting for Sonic and Knuckles, and only stopped when Eggman laid his hand on her shoulder. His face was so frantic, showing he was ready to leave. And yet, Hope felt so smug. Giving a grin, she sent an invisible message pretty much saying,

"Everything's about to fall down..."

And it did...

For the second time in a few days, the ceiling exploded.

Dust, debris, and other things, was sent skyward as sound blared everywhere. What caused it? Everyone was dying to find out.

Through the dust, they saw a figure, and they heard a noise. It was like a flying jet, the noise was. But, no one could tell for sure, not until the dust settled. Well... Hope knew... she could recognize that noise anywhere, she built it, after all...

The Phantom Cruiser...

The dust settled... and revealed a fallen angel.

Shadow stood on the Phantom Cruiser's head, his body, clean of any injuries he sustained. To his side, sheathed comfortably, his Samurai Sword. Flying above him, arms crossed, was Cyber Rouge...

There was a stunned silence that resonated through the room. Android Shadow dropped the Shadow rifle, while his mouth hung agape, Knuckles and Sonic gave a grin while they looked up, Dr. Eggman scratched his bald head in shocked thought, while Hope felt her heart stop.

"Sorry we're late..." Shadow stated, "Resurrection from the dead is tough business..."


	16. War Zone Fights

War Zone Fights

Shadow crossed his arms over one another while his ruby eyes beamed down upon his foes. The way Android Shadow looked at him, with eyes filled with fear and confusion, it tantalized him. He was so prepared to gun down the being responsible for his, _death_.

"I don't understand!" his gold clone yelled, "I killed you!"

"The news of my death have been greatly exaggerated," Shadow answered, "besides... if I can fall from space, I think I can survive a measly gun shot..."

The Phantom Cruiser started to hover slightly above the floor. A powerful wind rushed through the area, as the vehicle floated just a few feet over the ground. Hand on his blade, the black hedgehog stepped nonchalantly off the flying vehicle. Moments later, Cyber Rouge landed beside him, and, with a gesture of her hand, sent the Phantom Cruiser flying out of the castle. Once again silence returned... what now?

"It doesn't matter!" Android Shadow said, stomping his foot down, "I'll kill you all the same! But this time, I'll make sure you die!"

Grabbing the Shadow Rifle from off the ground, the gold and black android aimed it toward his _brother_. But someone would not have this...

"NOT LIKELY!" Cyber Rouge cried.

Hunching over, her teal lit eyes suddenly turned red.

"You did this to me!" she yelled, rage seething in her distorted voice.

Suddenly, her head started to click. A voice that came from Rouge, but was not _from_ Rouge then stated,

"Battle Mode, initiated."

From Rouge's thigh, another slot opened up. Within said slot, a black handle. Rouge pulled out the black handle, and revealed it to actually be a battle-ax. Tapping a near invisible button on the ax, she caused it to erupt with blue lights.

"Rouge, dear," Android Shadow said, noticeable fear in his voice, "calm down!"

Jets from her back suddenly erupted, and she dashed forward. Foot in full swing, she struck the gold clone with a roundhouse kick to the face. The blow was so strong, he was sent careening through Eggman's master chair. The chair exploded in a blazing glory of sparks and flames. Not only that, but without the master chair giving orders throughout the palace, things got a bit... dicey.

Water spouts from the ceiling began to produce water, while the lights in the room began to strobe wildly. But Rouge cared not.

Wings spread, she dashed after her golden foe like a hawk. Oh boy... she was angry... but as they say. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned... and if she's a cybernetic woman... then you're just asking for trouble...

Her next attack was so strong, she slammed the gold android through the wall. On the other side, the duo landed inside a room filled with Egg Pawns. Rouge gained so much inertia though, she ended up crashing into the running bots, her foe in her arms. Hand on his neck, she lifted up her blue and black ax, and then with a battle cry, she drove it down. Android Shadow's ruby eyes shot forward though, and he quickly grabbed a hold of the ax's handle. Holding it just inches away from his head, he struggled to hold it up. Rouge's red eyes, oddly, grew with intensity, as she tried her hardest to drive the deadly blade into her enemy's head.

"Not, today, Rouge dear!" he said through grunts.

Bucking up his feet, he was able to through the murderous cyborg off of him. She flew through the air, but gracefully landed yards away. His enemy away, for now, the Android quickly returned to his toes. Hands on his Shadow Rifle, he glared at her.

"Rouge dear," he said, "you can still end this! Just put down the axe, and join me."

"Not gonna happen! Faker!"

His ruby eyes began to flare up.

"NO ONE CALLS ME FAKER!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Air Shoes erupting with flames, he dashed forward. Thrusters on her back erupting with flames, Cyber Rouge dashed forward. At the speeds they were moving, they'd arrive at each other's position in a few seconds. For Android Shadow, a few seconds was all he needed.

Hand shining, he charged up a Chaos Spear. Instead of throwing it, however, he allowed it to engulf his hand in a shining yellow blade. He raised it up high, while Rouge did the same with her ax. Once their positions met, her blue ax, collided with his yellow Chaos Spear Arm.

An explosion occurred.

...

Knuckles head poked through the hole they made. He tried to see the two quarreling foes, but the explosion caused him to fly back. It didn't matter though, when he gazed back through, the two enemies were already gone, their battling cries echoing in the air.

Why did that robot bat look so familiar? Her voice, her form, her eyes... she looked like Rouge, but... no... that was impossible... could she be?

A rocket drove over to his position. Turning around, he barely had enough time to dodge it. By way of a leap, he landed a safe ways away from the explosions epicenter. Didn't matter though, because his foe was after him.

In a silver and orange streak, the orange Metal Shadow appeared. Cannon Arm raised high, it tried its hardest to strike down Knuckles. It should have known though, that he was the master of close quarters combat. He blocked the attack, and countered with a lazy kick to the legs. Oddly enough, the kick worked. Made unbalanced by Knuckles' strike, the Metal Shadow stepped back while its arms flailed wildly. The red echidna was about to punch his foe with an explosive strike, but a sudden blue and silver streak, punched him in the face with a quick strike. Knuckles nearly fell back from the strike, but he remained on his toes. A second later, the silver and blue streak reappeared, this time in Knuckles' face. Ember lit eyes gleaming, the blue Metal Shadow tried to strike his foe with a powerful chop. The chop was so quick, Knuckles had no time to dodge it, and he was slammed face first by it. Once again, he was sent reeling by the attack, so the blue Metal Shadow took the time to train its gun on him. Targeting sight centering on Knuckles head, it fired.

The twin gun barrels of the blue Metal Shadow's gun, alternated as it sent bullets into the brawling air. It would have been the end of anyone, but of course, Knuckles isn't anyone. He ducked quickly, and the bullets flew straight over his head. Dashing up, he gave the blue Metal Shadow no time to react, and he delivered an uppercut so strong, flames were visible. The blue Metal Shadow was sent flying into the air, and he eventually crashed back down atop a command console. Knuckles grinned, but quickly returned to a battling position. Purple eyes dashing up and down, he searched valiantly for the orange Metal Shadow. Just as he figured, the orange clone streaked around in its silver blur lines. Knuckles gave an annoyed murmur as he tried to pinpoint the position of his foe. It wasn't trying to hit him, so much as it was being a nuisance. But by following the air with his ears, Knuckles was able to tell where he was going to be.

Foot pointing out, he suddenly tripped up the silver and orange Metal Shadow. It flew for a few feet, before sliding onto the ground, face first.

"What!?" Knuckles said, "You think I battle Sonic all those times and didn't learn a thing or two about speed!?"

The sudden screaming of air brought to attention his other foe. The blue Metal Shadow appeared in Knuckles' face, and delivered a back kick which pushed the red echidna away. He recoiled quickly, and raised both fists. Moments later, the orange Metal Shadow appeared, dashing up beside his ally. The two Metal Shadows gave a glared toward one another, before looking over to their red foe. Knuckles, always up for a challenge, cockily taunted them to come forward.

"Bring it!" he said, teeth showing.

Happy to oblige, the Metal Shadows dashed forward.

...

From the center of the room, the hedgehog duo heard the explosions. Didn't matter though... their ruby and jade eyes were locked onto the ember eyes of the red and green Metal Shadows. Between the water falling on them, and the strobe lights rushing into the eyes, it wasn't so hard to tell tensions were running high. The Metal Shadow's hadn't moved an inch since Shadow arrived, so it wasn't so hard to tell they were planning some two-pronged attack. Still, the stillness was unsettling.

"Good to see you're alright..." Sonic quipped to his darker ally.

"You would say something like that..." Shadow whispered back, ruby eyes trained forward.

"Cool sword by the way," Sonic added, gaining a grin, "reminds me of Caliburn."

"Caliburn?"

"Nothing, you weren't there... sorta..."

"You're crazy Sonic..."

"Now you notice... by the way, what was that... uh, Hope girl doing here? And why was she wearing clothing so similar to old Eggbutt's? Isn't she with you?"

He never got an answer.

The green Metal Shadow jabbed forth its Cannon Arm, and fired out a rocket. Instead of exploding as usual, it sent out a cloud of smoke. The grey plume quickly blinded all sights, while at the same time causing those who inhaled it to cough and tear up. Through the gas, the red Metal Shadow appeared, Machine Gun Arm aimed forward. Through the alternating barrels, the silver and red clone fired. Even with teared up eyes, Shadow was able to withdraw his blade. Through super speeds, he was able to deflect each bullet that came his way. Silver sparks and lights shimmered in the sky, as bullets came face to face, with steel. His vision may have been blurry, but he wasn't blind.

"Sonic!" he yelled through coughs, "Do something!"

"I've got it!" Sonic coughed back.

Dropping to his side, he started to spin around, on the ground, in a running motion. He did it so fast, he caused a miniature tornado that blew away the smoke cloud. When he got back onto his feet, he saw that the Metal Shadows had disappeared. Lifting his fists, he got closer to Shadow.

"Hmm..." the dark hedgehog said, "Where's Hope?"

"She left with Robotnik, methinks!" Sonic answered.

"Perfect," the hedgehog murmured, "now I can be as violent as I want..."

Hands shaking, the suddenly erupted with yellow Chaos Energy. Sonic took note of this, before turning around. Those Metal Shadows were going to show up any moment now, so they had to be ready. Getting back to back, there was no place on their persons where they weren't well guarded. They just hoped it was enough.

"Sonic, watch out!" Shadow yelled.

Jade eye gleaming, he showed he was already ready. A silver streak dashed its way toward him, and Sonic juked back. Moving at extreme speeds, everything else appeared to slow around him. In his face, now moving at regular speeds, was the green Metal Shadow. Foot flying forward, the metallic clone tried to strike Sonic's face. Grinning, the blue hero deflected the attack easily, before countering with a back-handed fist. The green Metal Shadow was sent back by the attack, and it quickly lost its footing. Holding his blade up, Shadow got prepared for his own assault. A red and silver streak dashed by, and before Shadow knew it, his red clone was upon him. Gun barrels in full swing, it slammed down its weird gun upon its foe. Lifting his blade, Shadow stopped the attack from utterly crushing him. His red clone never let up though, and tried its hardest to break Shadow's defense. Growing enraged, the Ultimate Life Form thrusted forth his hand blade, and threw his red and silver clone away. It crashed into a command console behind it, and quickly recovered from the strike.

"For my clone," Shadow said, "you lack substance..."

The red machine quickly glared back, before disappearing in a silver streak.

"You know what," Sonic said, glaring around with a grin, "its time like these that I miss."

"What are you jabbing on about?" Shadow questioned.

"This! The fighting alongside each other! When was the last time we did this? I think it was when we fought that echidna tribe or something..."

"You are an idiot!"

Sonic started laughing, before he quickly dodged an incoming attack. The green Metal Shadow appeared before him, and threw a hard straight. Sonic blocked it, grabbed it, and then delivered three swift kicks to the body. The green Metal Shadow was sent back by the attack, while his targeting system went on the fritz. Every now and then, he'd see only static, before his vision recovered. At one moment, when he was seeing nothing but static, by the time he could see again, his face met Sonic's fist. The attack was strong, it knocked the green Metal Shadow into a command console. More sparks and flames were created by the crushing strike, and the Metal Shadow's eyesight remained in turmoil.

Hands glowing with Chaos Energy, Shadow threw forth a series of Chaos Spears. They flew all around in the air before aiming their ways onto the red Metal Shadow he was facing. The red and silver robot noticed the attack, and dodged it accordingly. Unfortunately for him though, this was a ruse. When he glared up to lock his eyesight back on Shadow, his head met the butt end of Shadow's sword. The machine fell back from the attack, and quickly leaped away.

"This is getting us nowhere!" Shadow yelled, "We need to finish this quickly!"

"Well I'm all ears, buddy!" Sonic answered, quickly deflecting a strike.

That's when they heard the noise of rushing wind. Both Shadow and Sonic locked up, as neither of them were running in the slightest... then, who was making that noise?

Metal Sonic, that's who.

Out of nowhere, the blue demon dashed forward. His body, covered in a golden shield, crashed into the two hedgehogs. His tackle on overdrive, he slammed his two opponents straight through several command consoles, and then into the wall. The wall was so weakened by the strike, it fell upon all three of them. By Shadow threw debris off of his body, and so did Sonic. When the two looked up, they saw Metal Sonic standing above them. Eyes gleaming red, the blue demon focused his attention solely on his eternal foe.

"Yo Shadow," Sonic said, gaining a grin, "you don't mind if I run off with my buddy here, do ya?"

Shadow looked nonchalantly toward him, before crossing his arms.

"Whatever..." he murmured.

Nodding his head and smiling wildly, Sonic jumped up.

"Okay Metal Sonic old buddy old pal, I'm all yours!"

The blue clone made no gestures of any sort. Instead, it looked off toward the halls of the Egg Palace. Seconds later, both Sonic and Metal Sonic were gone in a double blue flashes.

His rival gone, Shadow stood up. In the background, he could still hear Knuckles battling two of the clones. Well, at least he wasn't alone...

Standing tall, he got his katana at the read. In silver streaks, both the red and green Metal Shadows appeared.

"Alright you filthy clones!" Shadow yelled, "Let's finish this!"

And thus, yellow lights began dancing with silver streaks.

...

"Let go of me!" Hope yelled, tugging on her arm.

No matter how much Hope struggled, she just couldn't break her Uncle's grasp. For a fat man, he had a strong grip. Her Uncle looked so displeased. Blue eyes filled with anger, her stomped off with his niece in hand. They were in a dark and secluded hall, and were only going in deeper.

"I'm not going to lose!" the insane doctor said, "Not again!"

"Can't you just accept this?" Hope teased, "Just like all the other times, you lost! Give it up!"

The doctor was just so angry, he didn't care what Hope was going on about. Up stairs, he could hear the many rumbles and quakes of battle. The Metal Shadow Force would keep his opponents occupied for the moment, and that would give him the time he needs.

"Just be quiet, Hope dear," he murmured annoyance in his throat, "I don't intend to lose today!"

His hand found its way to a panel on the side of the hall. Tapping it, he caused a blue light to appear before the two Robotniks. The blue lines streaked up and down a door before them, and suddenly, it opened. The circular doorway slid apart, and allowed the two admittance to a great dome like room. Hope hadn't recognized it at first, but after a few minutes of analyzing it, she realized this was the room with the Time Gate. When it lacked all the cords and steel of pieces and metal, it looked nice and clean. Upon further inspection, she noticed something else. Hanging on the ceiling, in a pedestal made of steel and metal, was the Master Emerald. Cords stretched from the Master Emerald, lined the ceilings, and then connected to the Time Gate on the other end. Hope would have been awestruck but, the clenching grasp of her Uncle dashed away any thoughts of that.

"Let me go!" she yelled.

"Sit down, and shut up Hope!" he yelled, throwing her to the ground.

She slammed onto the ground powerfully, and felt pain course up her arm and shoulder. The Doctor didn't care though. Turning around, he made his way toward a command console. Hope, however, took the time out to scan the room.

When was the Time Gate finished? When she went to sleep the earlier night, it was half completed, but now, the crescent-shaped gate was now a complete 'O'. But... something was still odd about it. She could tell that certain pieces weren't connected, and many other things were off. It wasn't complete, and, at its current state, it would be unstable.

"No Uncle!" she yelled, looking to him, "You can't!"

"I'm done with failing!" he yelled back, "I don't care what happens, whether this thing works, or doesn't! I won't lose!"

"If you use that, there's no telling what it could do! It might crush the castle, or, worst yet, create a temporal rift! If that happens, all of time and space will be erased!"

"I don't care!" he roared, "No more failures! No more loses! No more!"

His fingers started to press and prod the many buttons of the Time Gate. Hope looked to it, and then back to him. If he did this... if he turned it on... it could kill everyone... _Everyone..._ She knew her Uncle was insane, but this was teetering on the brink of madness itself. She... she had to stop him... some way, some how...

Reaching into her coat, she felt the warm steel of her trusty wrench. Fighting... she... never ever thought about it. In fact, it horrified her. She hated how Shadow could get during battles... his ruthless nature... cold heart. It was so far removed from the being she loved... But even she knew it was necessary. Sometimes... she wished it wasn't, but she knew it was.

And now... now was one of those times...

She gingerly got to her toes. Fingers on her wrench. Eyes trained forward. Lips, and unhappy curl... She stepped forward... her footstep was so silent. She stepped forward... Once again, not even she could hear it. She stepped forward... her Uncle was getting so much closer. She stepped forward... God, if only people knew the war raging in her mind. She stepped forward... There he was, right before her, fingers dancing on the keypad. She stepped forward... Silence... nothing but it...

She struck...

Her wrench slammed against her Uncle's head. A noticeable 'GONG!' noise echoed as the tall Doctor fell back. Raising he wrench, she struck him again.

"I HATE YOU!" she roared out. She struck him again, "YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" she struck him again, "YOU JUST DON'T STAYING AWAY!" she struck him again, "YOU MAKE ME MADE TO BE A ROBOTNIK!" she struck him again, "YOU DICTATE, AND ATTACK, AND TERRORIZE!" she struck him again, "I JUST CAN'T STAND THE SIGHT OF YOU!" she struck him again, "I HATE YOU!" she struck him again, "I HATE YOU!" she struck him again, "I HATE YOU!"

Everything had so quickly become just a blinding red. Her wrench struck her Uncle over and over again, whether it be on his face, his body, his head, anywhere. And she was crying. She just cried, and cried, and cried. This assault was both a wonderful feeling and a damning one at the same time. She both loved, and abhorred it. She both wanted it to end, and wanted it continue.

And then, as quickly as it began, it was over...

Her Uncle laid unconscious at her toes. He was alive... no... she couldn't bring herself to kill.

"Just, stay away," she suddenly said, tears swelling, "stay away from my friends, stay away from my family..." she grew silent, "Stay away from my life..."

Her wrench fell... For once in her life... she just didn't want it anymore...

Blue eyes turning away, she prepared for the long trek back up the Egg Palace. She didn't walk to far.

Her body collided into... her body...

She looked forward, blue eyes filled with fear, as she gazed back into Mephiles' green snake eyes. He looked to her, and then floated his snakes over to the defeated Doctor. A low and maliscious chuckle came from the diamond bodied demon.

"Oh how ironic fate can be," he said, near seductively, "family beating down family, I so enjoy images such as these..."

He shifted his eyes to Hope.

"But now," he continued, "its time everything ended..."

Reaching forward, he grabbed Hope powerfully around the neck. Almost immediately, she felt her lungs grow weaker, and weaker. She grabbed a hold of his cold hand in an attempt to free herself, but it was all for naught. How was he this strong? Her vision had already begun to fade away. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see, she couldn't live... She was, she was...

"I said," a pained voice called, "Hope was out-of-bounds!"

For a few moments, she could see, and what she saw astonished her. Eggman got back up, lifted the very wrench his niece used to beat him, and struck down the purple demon. Mephiles fell back, but quickly recoiled. Growing angry, the demon released his grasp on Hope, and instead shifted his attention to Robotnik.

"Not to smart, Doctor!" he yelled.

Hand stretching forward, he grabbed the Doctor by his neck. Using mighty strength, he threw the deranged scientist into the wall. The throw was so strong, it caused a dent when the Doctor met the wall. He fell of moments later, but still had the energy to speak.

"Hope..." he murmured, "Run..."

Mephiles immediately shifted his attention over to the blonde mechanic. She stepped back, as he moved closer and closer. Before she noticed it, she was running, her feet taking her out of the Time Gate's room. As she did so, she just heard Mephiles evil and demonic laugh.

...

Android Shadow crashed through the wall of the Egg Palace. Falling outside the tall castle, he suddenly spun around, his air shoes keeping him flying. He glared down to the streets of Genocide City, and wiped a bit of sweat from his head. His body had marks and injuries all over it, and he was showing. Holding onto his chest, he breathed in and out in exhaustion. His ruby eyes floated back to the hole he created, and he noticed two teal lights gleaming back.

Cyber Rouge's deadly wings opened wide, and she took off in the sky. Flying in the same vicinity of her golden foe, she withdrew her shining blue axe.

"I've been planning for this!" Rouge remarked, "And I can tell, you're getting tired!"

"I still have enough to fight you!" Android Shadow roared.

"No you don't," she said, her distorted voice showing cockiness, "I can scan you. You're body is so tired and weak, you'd probably break on your own."

"I'll show you!" he yelled.

Shoes exploding with flames, he bursted forward at intense speeds. Arms stretched out, he slammed into Rouge's cold body. She raised her arm, and then jabbed it down on Android Shadow's spine. His grip instantly faltered, and he fell toward the ground. Once the pain in his spine subsided, he quickly regained cover in the air. Using his Air Shoes, he continued to fly above the Genocide City streets. Gazing up, he saw Rouge was making her way toward him. Android Shadow aimed forth the Shadow Rifle, and fired. The energy bolt within traveled through the sky, and once it met Rouge, it detonated.

The great yellow spear formed a circular explosion, and sent dust moving through the air. Grinning, Android Shadow felt victorious.

"You should've took me up on my offer," Android Shadow said, "but I'll always miss you, Rouge dear..."

But, through the dust, he noticed a blue light. Once the fog faded away, he saw Rouge with a clear blue shield over her. It had cracks in it, showing the Shadow Rifle made its mark, but the cybernetic bat within was unharmed.

Thrusting her arms out, the blue shield dissipated. If Rouge could smile right now, she'd be grinning.

The thrusters on her back erupted with flames, and she dashed forward. Ax in hand, she swung toward the Android she was battling. Quickly, he dashed back, causing the swoop to be pointless. Thus, he spun around, and delivered a powerful roundhouse with the back of his foot. Cyber Rouge ducked it, and thus countered with a kick of her own. Robot or not, a kick from Rouge is killer.

Her foot shot up, and struck the Android square in his chin. He was knocked back by the attack, and his eyesight was rendered daze for a while. As he reeled back, Rouge took the time to deliver an ax kick to the Android's head. It connected with the Androids head, and sent him falling to the earth. Like a yellow star, he fell through the air. He was moving so fast, he couldn't recoil from the strike. A second later, he crashed into the earth. The unfortunate building he landed on, fell from the mighty blow.

On the streets beside the building he fell in, two blue streaks dashed. The two streaks rushed down the great streets side by side. Sonic's jade eyes were locked forward, while his cold-hearted clone rushed up besides. The heat he exuded from his thrusters was so strong, it could set a person aflame. They were moving so fast, any normal person would have lost consciousness at the velocity they were going.

This felt so familiar. Well, to be honest, it always felt familiar. Sonic could always remember his many fights with Metal Sonic. And no, not Silver Metal Sonic, or Mecha Sonic, just Metal Sonic. The one and only...

From Stardust Speedway, to the Atomic Destroyer, to their one on one, fist to fist, fight on the Death Egg II, to the race at Resort Island, to his transformation into the Metal Overlord, and finally, their most current battle, during the Free Riders Grand Prix. Yes... they have had many battles. Battles, that could last over many lifetimes...

And this would just be one more...

They streaked up the roads at incredible speeds. The streets themselves began to change wildly, with the background serving tobe only an image. Slowly, the road they were racing on started to move up into the air. Yes, the road itself, started moving up into the air. The lightning from the storm overhead coursed wildly, and sent heated light in the air. Some of them struck the road, and this caused both Sonic's to dodge it. It seemed as if that one lightning bolt forced the battle to heat up.

Metal Sonic dashed back first. Falling behind his foe, he initiated the V. Max Overdrive. His body was thus surrounded in a shimmering yellow and white aura. His speed increased magnificently, and he thrusted himself forward. Like a yellow star, he soared forward. Sonic dashed left and right, but his metal clone kept his sights trained on him. Each step Sonic took, his clone was surely following.

Gazing back, the blue dude with an attitude noticed his foe was gaining ground on him. With a sudden jolt, Metal Sonic dashed forward, but Sonic was able to dodge it in time via a simple jump. Rolling into a ball, as per usual, he suddenly dashed in, mid-air, and slammed into Metal Sonic's back. The blue demon collapsed into the ground, and dragged alongside it for a few seconds. Moments later, he got back onto his feet, and dashed off in hot pursuit of his hated foe.

A lightning bolt from the sky suddenly struck the road, separating the two quarreling foes. Sonic dashed forward, but always kept his jade eyes on his metal clone. Suddenly, Metal Sonic dashed forward, once again using his coveted V. Max Overdrive ability. He flew off the road, still covered in his blazing yellow aura, and then suddenly dashed forward, head first. He moved at such great speeds and he had gained so much inertia, that once he touched down with the road, it exploded. Sonic was still rushing forward though. The road from behind started to crumble and breaking, ending all chances to return from where they came.

Metal Sonic suddenly appeared in the air. Ember lit eyes trained forward, he started to charge blue energy within the pit in his chest. After a few seconds of this, he shot it forward, causing a powerful beam of blue strength to evaporate the ground. Sonic boosted forward with speed, and so did Metal Sonic, his chest beam continuing to fire. Sonic was sure he had to counter soon, or else this would go on forever, and as long as he enjoyed running, he knew he had to return to the Egg Palace sooner or later.

So, taking the initiative for a change, he leaped up. In the air, he spun around, and then homed in on Metal Sonic's head. He struck him square central, and caused him to fly away. Once again, Metal Sonic collapsed onto the ground, and rolled onto it. Growing enraged, the metal clone suddenly shot forward. Before Sonic knew it, he was face to face with him.

Metal Sonic threw forward a punch, and Sonic dodged it easily. Still moving at high speeds, he threw a kick to Metal Sonic's head. The cold clone easily blocked it, and threw a punch of his own. Being the blue blur though, Sonic was able to leap up and over the punch, to continue running on the road ahead. Metal Sonic got angry, flew off the road, and then began charging his chest laser again. After a few seconds of this, he shot out a blazing blue beam, but this one was different from the last. When it touched the ground, it caused fire to dance. Sonic looked back to the fire, and noticed it was gaining distance. He was ready to dash off, but his boost was ruined by the sudden arrival of Metal Sonic.

With a cold hand, the evil clone threw forth a punch. Sonic, growing annoyed, slipped under the punch, and countered with a kick. The kick threw Metal Sonic away, and allowed Sonic to continue his run. Spinning into a ball, he started dashing along the road. Metal Sonic suddenly rushed forward, and grabbed his foe through the ball. Sonic was moving so fast though, he only got a hold of his leg. That's when Metal Sonic said his first words.

"I AM THE REAL SONIC!" he roared, just like so long ago.

"Sorry, Metal," Sonic replied with a grin, "but there's only one, _true_, Sonic!" and then, looking up, he yelled out, "BLAST AWAY!"

Spinning into a ball, he broke free from his metal counterparts hands. And then, moving at speeds no one could notice, he started striking the robot's body over and over and over again. Though he was created to battle Sonic, the speeds he was now moving at was too much for the robot to handle. All around his body, he was being hit by Sonic's homing attack. Whenever he tried attacking his foe, he would be struck on another part of his body. This went on, and on, and on, and only ended once Sonic slammed atop of Metal Sonic's head. The blue clone crashed face first into the road, and immediately bounced over and over again. Sonic landed a few feet away, as Metal Sonic's body dragged along the long road. A few seconds of his metal body grinding against the metal road, all came to an end right near Sonic's feet.

The blue blur gazed down, while his blue clone gazed up.

"Why?" Metal Sonic questioned.

"Till next time, Metal Sonic."

And then, as usual, he dashed off. Metal Sonic looked up, and noticed the flames he created was approaching. His body was too injured though, and they swallowed him up.

...

Knuckles let out large amounts of air, as the water from the spouts dripped onto his body. Before him, the orange Metal Shadow, and the blue Metal Shadow. They had been fighting for how long now? Knuckles wasn't sure. He just wanted it all to end.

"Alright," he taunted, lifting his fists, "come on!"

The orange Metal Shadow's eyes lit up. Glaring toward the tired echidna, he dashed forward, Cannon Arm pointed forward. It fired a series of rockets, all of which Knuckles dodged. But Knuckles was no fool. He knew this was a ruse, and only waited.

From behind, he noticed the blue Metal Shadow streak about, its silver lines barely visible. And Knuckles, he only waited. His purple eyes looking forward, he waited for the orange Metal Shadow to perform the failing act.

And it did.

Pulling back on its Arm Cannon, he knew it changed its rocket type. The orange Metal Shadow aimed the cannon forward, and fired. As it flew toward him, Knuckles could tell what type it was. That sticky one... he just knew it...

From behind, he noticed the blue Metal Shadow dash by at high speeds... time to finish it.

With Sonic speeds, he spun around, and grabbed a hold of the blue Metal Shadow. The rocket was getting closer. Spinning around, he caused the blue Metal Shadow to face the oncoming rocket. And said rocket, exploded.

Knuckles' eyes were closed as he awaited the explosion. Once the noise of detonation subsided, he looked forward. He smiled.

The blue Metal Shadow in his hands was stuck in the gooey substance that once trapped Knuckles. He was right! He so called that!

"Hell yeah!" Knuckles yelled, slamming his fists into one another.

The orange Metal Shadow noticed it trapped its ally, and then quickly shifted its attention to its foe. Cannon aimed forward, it started charging up an orange blast, but Knuckles took cover behind its ally. Grabbing onto the blue Metal Shadow's gun arm, the red echidna took in a deep breath.

"I knew I promised myself to never use these but," he sighed, "it's now or never..."

Aiming the blue Metal Shadow's gun arm forward, he fired. The powerful bullets tore through the air, and found its way to the orange Metal Shadow. The tangerine clone continued its deadly charge though, and was unable to move its way. The bullets from its ally tore into his body, causing multiple dents, scraps, and holes, to appear all around. Its body flailed wildly as the bullets began to widdle down its body. The bullets were so strong and so fast, it had no way of escaping the great pain. The silver, metal clone stayed alive for a few moments, but one bullet to the head killed it almost immediately.

Knuckles stopped firing, and only watched. The orange Metal Shadow shook, stood for a few more seconds, and then fell. The ember lit eyes on its head started to blink... and silence...

The blue Metal Shadow looked over to echidna holding him. Knuckles gave a sadistic grin. Grabbing a hold of the gun arm, he started to pull and pull. And then, he tore it off.

Sparks and wired flailed about as the once gun arm laid in Knuckles hand. Time for pay back...

"What now!?" Knuckles said, giving a wild grin, "Can't fight!?"

Pulling back his fist, he prepared his greatest punch ever.

"Just for you..." he commented.

He threw it forward, it slammed into the Metal Shadow's head, and a sizeable explosion occurred.

Shadow moved his eyes over to the explosion. Dust and debris was thrown upward, and when it settled, Knuckles stood. The blue Metal Shadow, on the other hand, was missing a head.

Priceless...

His hand on his katana, the Ultimate Life form spun around. He withdrew it quickly, and kept the dark blade trade on his current foes. The green and red Metal Shadows had disappeared quickly, but Shadow was sure they would return.

The red Metal Shadow appeared. That would be his first victim.

It flew forward, gun trained, and fired a near endless stream of bullets. With expert movements, Shadow was able to deflect each and every bullet that came his way. While this was going on, he began grinning. The red Metal Shadow was getting closer and closer, much to Shadow's pleasure.

And then, the red Metal Shadow stopped firing. Shadow dashed forward. His metal clones may have been fast, but he was faster. Like the scene in a samurai film, Shadow dashed forward, blade in a slashing movement. The red Metal Shadow stopped dead in its tracks when this happened.

The two warriors were standing far apart from one another. With slow movements, Shadow stood up tall. His moved his blade over, and started to slowly sheath it. Seconds later, a noticeable 'CLICK!' noise echoed out, as the blade locked its place into it's sheathe. A moment later, the red Metal Shadow fell in two places. It had been sliced in half from head to toe.

Shadow gazed back at the fallen clone. Its cords and wires were moving about wildly, as sparks tried to find exit ends. One down... one more to go...

The noise of burning air filled Shadow's ears. Turning, he saw the green Metal Shadow holding on valiantly to its Arm Cannon. It was charging up a large amount of green energy, much to Shadow's surprise. He had never seen it do such a thing. With one mighty push, the green clone fired out the green blast it was making. It moved so fast, Shadow had no time to dodge it.

And so, it exploded. The area was set ablaze with a massive power, destroying pretty much everything in the area. The green Metal Shadow scanned the air, and realized its foe was gone. Believing Shadow was killed by the blast and merely disintegrated, the green Metal Shadow stood up tall.

To its surprise, a hand tore through its chest. Turning around, the green robot saw his very predecessor. Shadow gave a grin, as his hand laid safely inside his silver and green clone.

"Let me make this quick..." Shadow whispered, a grin growing.

His hand suddenly started erupting with yellow energy. The green robot began shaking violently as he did so. Shadow charged and charged, then, launched forward an enhanced Chaos Spear. As expected, his clone exploded in his arms. Once the explosion subsided, its chest was visible to all that looked to it. Shadow pulled out his arm, and allowed his defeated clone to fall at his feet.

"Hmph!" he said, "To easy for me!"

His fingers found his fur, and he began dusting off any particles within in. Moments later, Knuckles ran up, he too finished with his fight.

"Yo Shadow." he called, hand open.

A moment later, Sonic himself dashed up. He looked tired from his battle with Metal Sonic, but he gave a smile nonetheless.

"Talk about never knowing when to quit." he commented as he walked up.

Without another word, the trio got into a group. That's when the water from the ceiling went off. Shadow glared up, arms crossed, and felt his heart calm.

"SHADOW!" a young, feminine voice cried.

The trio of heroes looked off to the voices owner, to see a frantic Hope running from the hall.

"Shadow!" she said, her voice choking in her throat.

For some reason... looking at the dark hero, alive and well... not dead at the bottom of Genocide City like Android Shadow claimed... it felt so rejuvenating.

He gave a nonchalant look, though his facial features had noticeably softened.

"Hope..." he said, "You're alright..."

She walked up at first. Stepped back... walked up again... stepped back again... and then, she started running. Before Shadow knew it, he was holding a blonde girl in her hands, while her lips pressed up against his.

His muzzle blushed red immediately at first, before he broke the kiss. Giving Hope an embarrassed, and angry look, he said,

"What's your problem!"

But she didn't care. Just being in his arms, his warm, lively arms... she felt so great.

"I love you, Shadow the hedgehog..." she said, suddenly enough.

He was caught off guard by her words... of course.

"Wow..." Sonic said, scratching the back of his ear, "This is awkward..."

"SHUT UP!" Shadow yelled, before turning his attention back to Hope, "Now, what was that?"

"I said..." she got closer, "I love you..."

"That's what I thought you said."

From his arms, he placed her back down onto the ground. He said nothing, as his arms crossed as before. Nevertheless, the blush on his muzzle grew.

What should he do... say he loved her? Should he keep it to himself? He wasn't sure. For once in Shadow the hedgehog's life... he was fighting a battle he couldn't win.

He had never said, 'I love you' to someone... Well, he did say it to Maria before, but this was a different kind of love. This wasn't the kind of love you just throw around.

Hope's face... it bent down in fear... she was getting impatient.

So was Shadow... he knew the answer to this question... or did he? He couldn't remember. He felt like the feelings was there, but the words weren't. He just... he just... he just...

He didn't know what to do...

"Shadow..." she said, getting a bit scared.

"Dammit Hope!" he said, looking away, "Why here... why now..."

He gazed back to her. She looked hurt... pained even, but his words. His hand stretched forward, and he grabbed a hold of her dainty ones. Tensing up, he glared away to both Knuckles and Sonic.

"If you say anything!" he said, "I will kill you!"

Both nodded quickly.

So... with a deep breath... Shadow turned to the blonde girl.

"I... I... I... I..." his heart stopped, "Hope... I..." he grabbed her cheek, "I... I..."

He pressed her lips onto hers. She was taken off guard by the kiss but, ultimately, she relented. Shadow... her hero... the man she loved... was kissing her... and this time... she didn't feel wrong about it... He kissed her first.

"There," he said, pulling back, "is that an answer for you?"

Hope looked him up and down. His muzzle was so red.

"You... you look so cute right now," she pointed out, "are you embarrassed?"

A groan exited Shadow's mouth as he laid his hand on his forehead. This was by far, the last time, he ever showed his feelings out loud.

"Duh-awwwwwww," Sonic playfully teased, "ain't they cute, Knux?"

"It's not right to make fun of their romance, Sonic," Knuckles said, stoicly enough, "from where I come from, love is serious business..."

"Really?" Sonic question, growing a grin, "Well, as long as Amy isn't here to see this, everything's alright with me."

"Why's that?" Knuckles question.

"Believe me... you don't wanna know..."

"WAIT!" Hope suddenly yelled gaining everyone's attention, "Shadow!"

"What's wrong!?" he answered back.

"Downstairs... Mephiles, he's..."

* * *

_Trivia Time!_

_Holy crap is this chapter long! In fact, this is the longest chapter I've written for a singular story!_

_For those who hate long chapters, I really apologize, I hadn't realized just how out of hand things had gotten. Oh well, time for me to talk about stuff you may or may not have care for._

_First off, a shout out to Bang Rowdyruff, a reviewer of mine. Because of him, I was able to come up with just the perfect title for this chapter._

_Now, to stupid Sonic stuff!_

_First of all, the Metal Sonic versus Sonic fight. This battle is semi based off of the Metal Sonic fight in Sonic Generations, which is based off of the Sonic CD fight... huh... Any who like the Generation's fight, Sonic and Metal Sonic fought on a levitated road that was constantly breaking apart. Also, before the fight, Sonic goes over the many battles he had with Metal Sonic. I only mentioned fights Sonic had with Metal Sonic, not anyone else. That's why he didn't mention Metal Sonic Kai, the final boss in Knuckles Chaotix. Technically, Sonic wasn't even their to see that fight. The fights he does reference are the ones from Sonic CD (of course), the one from Sonic Triple Trouble, the one from Sonic R, the one from Sonic Heroes, the one from Sonic Free Riders, and the battle from Sonic the Fighters. I hadn't referenced the one from Sonic 4 Episode II, because I haven't plaid that one yet, and I didn't want to ruin it for myself finding the information online. But believe me, technically, that one happened too._

_Second, the whole Cyber Rouge versus Android Shadow fight. Now, I wanted to finish that fight in this chapter too, but this story was already reaching a high level of words, so I decided to postpone it till next chapter. I'm sorry for those who want an ending, you're just going to have to wait a little bit longer._

_Third, the whole scene before Eggman and Hope. Now, I just want to say first, I adored writing that scene. Just... so much emotion, if you ask me. Next, Hope's words vaguely mirror the words she said to Snively in that one issue of the Archie Sonic Comics, the only difference is... well... everything. I think I write Hope a bit more violent than her comic self, but I just attribute that to desperate times._

_Fourth, the scene at the end between Shadow and Hope. I didn't want this to be sappy, but it feels a bit like that to me. I always hated how in most stories, Shadow just falls in love with someone out of the blue, so I tried to make this feeling seem gradual. Sure, he made certain gestures toward Hope throughout the story, but I tried making people think he was just fooling around or not. I did make him come to terms with his feelings for her in an earlier chapter, but this is the first time he's said it to her. Yeah, yeah yeah, romance, blah blah blah. Hey, half of the genre is romance, I am trying to make things a bit romantic. Just don't be thinking Shadow's going to be changing because of this._

_Finally, Knuckles using a gun. I pray a lot of you aren't offended by that. Heck, I'm a bit offended myself. I didn't want Knuckles to use the Shadow Android's gun, but the scene just looked so awesome in my head, I just had to write that out. Then again, maybe I'm blowing that a bit out of proportion, and you all don't really care._

_Well... I just rambled on a bit, so I'm going to close this thing down. I pray you are all loving the story. If you're loving it, then I'm loving it..._

_So, till the next chapter,_

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	17. Mephiles Games

Mephiles Games

The pieces of metal and concrete that crushed his body, pained him so much. He couldn't see, and it was getting hard to breathe. Granted, air wasn't something he desperately needed, as he was Android, but the lack of it was something still noticeable. It was so dark, he couldn't see the hands above him, and he was so weak, he was sure this was to continue. All he needed was one mighty push, one great strong heave that would free him from his crushing bonds.

His body began flashing red, as his teeth began to show. Ruby eyes light, he prepared for one more lunge. His body empowered by Chaos Energy, he laid his hands on the fallen ceiling, and began pushing. He could hear the noise of heavy objects hitting heavier objects, and was sure he was soon to be free. Just a little bit more.

Suddenly, the ceiling he was lifted moved away, and he experienced brief weightlessness. Above him, her shadow gazing over all, was Cyber Rouge. With one hand, she was able to lift the ceiling that was crushing him just earlier. The Roboticization process can work wonders, it seems.

Rouge gazed down with red-lit eyes that beamed holes through her foe. Up and down, her targeting parameter scanned Android Shadow's body. He was showing, what appeared to be, fear. If only she could make a face, she would have given her opponent a smirk.

"Shadow never shows fear," she said, as she dropped the ceiling away, "even when he's about to die."

"I _never_ show fear!" Android Shadow barked.

"Oh?" Rouge commented, "That's silly, because I see other wise..."

Her hand reached forward, and she grabbed the black and gold hedgehog forcefully around the neck. Her grip was tight, and the android was quickly finding himself without air. But Rouge wanted his death to be... worse...

With a mighty throw, she tossed the gold clone into a fallen wall. The powerful attack caused the wall to crumble atop Android Shadow, much to his ire. He let out a mighty groan as steel fell upon him. Rouge's metal high heels started to click against the ground, and he quickly tensed up. Gazing to the sultry machine, he watched her pull her blue ax from the slot in her leg again. Wings spread wide, and red eyes showing hate, she appeared to be some sort of Angel of Death. But the android wouldn't go down, not like this.

Pulling out the Shadow Rifle, Android Shadow aimed the iron sights down on his silver foe, his teeth showing.

"Rouge, dear!" he yelled, "Step back! I don't want to do this!"

But Cyber Rouge never faltered. She just walked forward, the clicking of the boots being the only sound she made. The golden android was finding this a bit hard to believe. Sure, she blocked it before, but a shot from the Shadow Rifle could kill just about anything. And he was so close, there was no way she'd be able to deflect it this time. And yet, she kept walking forward, Android Shadow couldn't believe his eyes. But... if she wanted death, he would surely give it to her...

Shadow Rifle aiming forward, he pulled the trigger.

A distinct 'CLICK!' noise echoed everywhere.

His ruby eyes opened wide.

He... he was out of ammo...

Cyber Rouge grabbed the tip of the Shadow Rifle, and daintily moved it to the side. Android Shadow's ruby eyes never faltered from the gun, as he was so shocked, he didn't know what to do. It wasn't until Rouge lifted her ax, that he gazed away from it.

Looking into the cybernetic bat's red eyes, he noticed they transformed back to their teal colors. Rouge's free hand fell down upon the Android's shoulder, and held him in place. He didn't try to fight it though, he was just to shocked...

Rouge lifted her ax up high, and a lightning bolt streaked through the sky.

The ax fell.

It dragged against Android Shadow's waist and cleaved a deep and powerful gash. Blood was visible, as well as certain cybernetic parts. Android Shadow bent to the will of the ax, and was promptly thrown away from the strike. But Rouge wasn't finished. She walked up, and then slammed her ax down upon the android's shoulder. The ax wedged its way inside. Android Shadow let out an uproarious cry, as he the ax sent blood and flying. The searing pain was almost too much for him to handle, and yet it persisted. Rouge pulled and pulled, and then ripped her ax out of the android's arm.

He fell face forward, and started gurgling a good amount of blood. How many parts of the being was robotic, and how many parts were living, Rouge wasn't sure. Well, she could have scanned him, but she believed Android Shadow wasn't worth the right. Time to finish it...

A slot in her arm opened up. Rouge reached for it, and withdrew the Satellite gun that laid within. Pressing on the otherworldly gun's trigger, she caused a red beam of light to fly from the gun, and set a marker on Android Shadow. After removing her finger from the gun, she noticed a weird sound echo. From the sky, a bright yellow light appeared. It beamed for a few seconds, before falling down upon Android Shadow. At first, he felt nothing, but soon, a searing and burning sensation began rumbling through his body. Everything was engulfed in yellow lights, and for a change, he couldn't see. Then, as fast as it arrived, it ended. A great and large explosion occurred, sending everything in the vicinity skyward with fire and sound.

Rouge stepped back, and was safe from the explosion as she occurred. Her teal eyes changing green, she scanned the area for anyone around. He didn't show up...

If only Rouge could smile. Just the thought of that golden monster, who made her this way, ceasing to exist... it elated her. And they say revenge is empty.

Wings spreading out long, she took off for the Egg Palace.

...

"What are you talking about?" Shadow questioned, his hands on Hope's shoulders, "What is Mephiles doing?"

"Its Mephiles," she said, looking away, "he's planning something."

"I'm sorry, but," Sonic interrupted, "what's a Mephiles?"

"And not only that," Knuckles said, "but why did that gold clone of your say he killed you, Shadow?"

The black and red hedgehog merely shook his head, while his arms laid across one another. Giving his all allies a slight nod, he said,

"We'll answer you questions _after_ all of this blows over..." he shifted his attention back to Hope, "Now, Hope, where is Mephiles?"

"In the Time Gate chamber..." she murmured, "Deep down the halls," she pointed, "over their..."

With another nod, the hedgehog, the blue hedgehog, and the echidna turned around. Though two of them were sure who the heck Mephiles was, they knew that if it dealt with Eggman, then it couldn't be good.

Moments later, a silver robot landed on the hole in the Egg Palace's roof. Almost immediately, Knuckles raised his fists, as he was prepared for battle.

"They just don't quit, do they!?" Knuckles yelled.

With a mighty leap, he dashed up, toward the silver being. Fist raised high, he was prepared to delivered on mighty fist of epic proportions. Slamming down said fist, he was surprised to see it caught and deflected so easily. He tried to pry his fist away, but the robot before him just wouldn't let go. So, lifting his other fist, he delivered another punch, but this one was caught too. He struggled his hardest to break free, but when the machine suddenly brushed his muzzle alongside his, he gained a blush.

"Wait..." he murmured, taking a longer look at the silver cybernetic bat before him, "Rouge?"

Now that he paid more attention, he could tell she was Rouge. Honestly, that heart-shaped chest was the most obvious give away.

"Hey there, red-head," Rouge flirted, "You know, that anger can't be good for you."

Getting embarrassed and annoyed, Knuckles tore his hands from her grip. He looked away a second later, and started to groan, while Rouge let out a girlish giggle. Grabbing a hold of her shoulder, she suddenly leaped off of the ceiling's structures, and landed in the midst of their allies.

"Rouge?" Sonic questioned as she got closer, "What happened to you?"

"Android Shadow happened to me..." she answered, her hand falling to her hip, "He sent me to one of Robotnik's old Roboticization machines, and turned me into this..."

"That bastard!" Knuckles yelled, "I'll kill him!"

"To late..." Rouge murmured, "I've already dealt with him..."

For a moment or two, her eyes flashed red.

"Well... how are you going to change back?" Sonic questioned.

The castle began shaking...

"I think that's going to have to wait till later..." Shadow murmured, "Let's move!"

Scooping Hope up in his arms, he held her bridal style. A second later, she was feeling the rushing sense of wind as he rushed down the halls. Did he even know where he was going? Well, it seemed that way, because every turn he made was correct. Gazing behind him, he saw Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge were all diligently following. But... she didn't care... to be in Shadow's arms, and to know, that he actually... loved her... it was a melting sensation.

"Hope..." Shadow murmured, his ruby eyes shooting to her, "Are you okay? You're dazing off again." he jerked over a wall.

"I'm... fine..." she said, a blush growing.

He chuckled lowly.

"You're such a kid, Hope." he said.

For a change, Hope didn't feel belittled by those words. She, oddly enough, enjoyed it.

"Yeah," she answered, looking away with a forced smile, "I'm a kid..."

Shadow noticed her shift in demeanor, and his finger tips began pressing on her body.

"Hope..." he questioned, his skating slowing a bit, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing it's just..." why was she tearing up? "This is all my fault."

"No it's not..." he answered, easily enough, "It's the Doctor's fault..."

"No, it is my fault..." she looked up to him, "I got you shot and stabbed Shadow... I got Rouge changed into a robot... I helped the Doctor create the Time Gate... Everything was my fault... all because I snuck aboard that Harrier Jet... If I didn't sneak aboard, none of this would have happened..."

"Maybe..." Shadow answered, "Maybe not... If I know anything about , 'if, ands, or buts', it's that they are just words... sure, its fun to entertain the idea of doing things differently, but once something happens, it happens. The past is the past... but the future... it's what we make of it..."

Was he some kind of prophet? Words like that... they were...

The castle shook, causing everyone to briefly lose their footing.

"What's going on here!?" Sonic yelled glaring down.

"It's the Time Gate!" Hope answered, "If Mephiles activated it, things are about to get real bad, real fast!"

"Then well have to be faster!" Sonic yelled back.

Dashing forward, he attached his hands to both Rouge and Knuckles, and using his signature skill, he boosted the trio forward at high speeds.

"That idiot doesn't even know where he's going..." Shadow answered.

His grip on Hope tightening, he blasted forward as well at extreme speeds. He quickly over took Sonic, and lead him down the correct halls. The palace though, it continued to shake.

The halls they were moving it quickly transformed from light, to dark. Shadow had been following a form of Chaos Energy, and said form was now exploding with energy. They were getting closer.

Shadow's speed started to decrease, and Sonic did like wise. The hall had begun to curve, and it eventually ended at a close disc door. It was terrifying. On the creases of the wall, they could see yellow lights blast out. Whatever was on the other side, it was unholy.

Shadow placed Hope down, and started prodding the entrance to the door way. Even though he only touched it, he felt a rush of energy assault his mind.

"Whoa..." he murmured, "That can't be good..."

Grabbing a hold of the door, he started trying to forcibly open it. Unfortunately, it wasn't having any of his crap. The door remained closed, no matter how hard Shadow tried. And he was the Ultimate Life form, so he knew this thing was tough.

"Rouge..." he called out, stepping back, "Could you open this up for me?"

"It'll be my pleasure." she answered stepping forward.

Her robotic hands latching onto the door, she started exerting a massive amount of force. The door started to move to her will, as the noise of bending metal floated on the air ways. Rouge continued to press and prod though, and the door soon produced a crack. Loosened from the nuts and bolts that held it in place, it showed just how weak it became. The yellow lights from beyond, however, started to blast into everyone's eyes.

"What is that!?" Sonic questioned first.

"We're about to find out!" Shadow yelled back.

His hands laid on the door's edge, and he quickly pulled it open. The yellow lights from beyond grew even brighter, and it forced everyone to cover their eyes.

"I don't get it!" Hope cried, "This wasn't supposed to happen!"

"What wasn't supposed to happen?" Shadow yelled back.

"This! The Time Gate is too unstable!"

The light it engulfed everyone and everything. No... Everything felt off.

Hope could feel her body changing because of it. She felt her hands... age... She felt like she was getting older!

"What's going on!?" Sonic yelled, "I feel so old!"

"Shadow!" Rouge cried, "Do something!"

"I've got it!" he replied through the light, "CHAOS BURST!"

Using Chaos Control, the black hedgehog was able to distort time and space around his allies. The blinding light subsided, and everyone felt... better...

Gazing down to her body, Hope found herself to be the same fourteen year old as usual. Thank God... she didn't know what she would do if she actually aged... looking over to Sonic and Knuckles, she noticed the duo had also returned to their usual selves. Rouge, on the other hand, was still the cybernetic bat she had been forced to become.

But everything else... it was... hard to explain...

The hall they were in was still there, but the room with the Time Gate was... different. It was surrounded in a shining yellow aura, which was most likely the light that blinded them from earlier. The aura moved around extremely violently, and it probably wasn't something to touch. But what really got everyone's attention, was the crazy diamond being standing at the command console. His fingers, while sharp and deadly, danced along the console's keypad. The Time Gate, on the other hand, was showing images... most of which were just to wild to describe.

With the dimension around them still distorted, Shadow started walking forward. He couldn't move so great, since he was concentrating, so hard. Fortunately, Hope was there, and she kept her arms around her beloved. Because of Shadow's Chaos Burst, the group were safely protected by the wild golden aura surrounded the dome-shaped room of the Time Gate. By the time they arrived on the other side, Shadow's Chaos Burst dissipated, and he immediately fell out. Hope kept him standing though, so there was no need to worry.

"Mephiles!" she called out, gaining the demon's attention.

He said nothing however, and kept his fingers trained on the keypad. This went on for a second or two, before a rogue Chaos Spear caught his attention.

"MEPHILES!" Shadow roared, ceasing his work.

His fingers stopped clicking the keypads, and he turned to face his hated foe. There was an intense and deep silence, as the two beings looked at each other. Mephiles looked so craze with his green snake eyes. And yet, as demonic and distorted as he looked, he still resembled the one whose shade he absorbed. He was so noticeable, even Sonic and Knuckles could tell he resembled the blonde mechanic. Until now, Hope herself had never scanned him so closely. Just the way this demon looked... It was like, herself, fused with the diamonds and rocks, while at the same time being washed out with grays, blacks, and whites. The most terrifying thing about this creäture, was its lack of a mouth. It was just green snake eyes, and nose... that was it...

"You know, Shadow," Mephiles said, his voice so evil and calm, "this is how I remember you the best..." he turned his body completely away from the console, "Eyes filled with purpose, as you stand by friends, ready to defeat me..."

"I don't remember the last time I faced you," Shadow remarked, "but if I know myself, I know it ends in your utter defeat."

"And it did," Mephiles said, "but there is more ways to win, than to just defeat your opponent..."

"Mephiles," Hope said, "please, turn the Time Gate off! Its unfinished, and it will surely created a time warp!"

"I know," he said, crossing his crystallized arms, "and that's exactly what I intend on doing..." he stretched out his arms, "Complete, and utter destruction! The death of all things!"

"You're insane!" Sonic barked, whilst pointing forward.

Mephiles pressed one final button on the command console.

"You have three minutes, before destruction," Mephiles stated, "let's see how long you can prolong death by my hands."

Hope tensed up. As evil as Mephiles was, she never believed this was his final plan. Complete destruction? How could he want something like this? Even though her Uncle told her this, she just didn't believe it. But... some of his words held the truth.

Suddenly, she felt Shadow's hand fall along her shoulder. She gazed at him, and his ruby eyes. Without saying a word, his eyes conveyed a message telling her to get back. She looked over to Rouge, whose teal lit eyes changed to red. She gazed over to Sonic, who started to tense up, while he gritted his teeth. And finally, she glared over to Knuckles, who raised both fists up in preparation. No more talking... just action...

Returning her stare to Shadow, she nodded.

"Just..." she said, "Be safe..."

And then, she brushed her lips over his muzzle. Not seeing anything else, she moved over to the edge of the room.

The group of heroes trained their eyes directly onto Mephiles. The crystal demon floated up high, and started laughing out like some great monster. Coming to the center of the room, he returned his gaze to Shadow.

"I promised to ruin everything in your life, Shadow!" Mephiles yelled, "But killing you is oh so greater!"

Suddenly, his body plunged into the floor. Instead of growing flat like a pancake, he instead sunk into it, causing a sea of darkness to cover the entire ground. Sonic reacted first, by giving a confused look toward the shadowy substance. What was it? he questioned, And will it hurt? Well, to his liking, it didn't, but it caused unknown friction. Everytime he moved his foot, it felt as if he was rushing across very slippery ice.

"You guys!" he said, running in place, "I think we have a problem!"

"I can't run!" Knuckles yelled, confirming his beliefs.

"The ground is fighting against us!" Rouge said, her wings flapping.

"Then there's only one way to deal with it." Shadow answered.

His Air Shoes erupting, he took off for the air. A second later, he was joined by Knuckles, who was using his dreads to float in the air. Only Sonic remained, as he had no way of moving around.

"A little help here you guys!" he yelled.

Shadow quickly zoomed down, and grabbed a hold of his hand, lifting him in the air. The quartet of fighters in the sky, they were free from Mephiles' weird plan. Seconds later, on the other side of the room, the darkness began to bubble. A giant golem, created solely from darkness, appeared. It easily dwarfed the heroes in size, and possibly in power as well. Bright purple lights shined up its body, and it appeared to have a head as well.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Rouge called out frantically, "That doesn't look good!"

"I think it's composed of a lot of shadows!" Hope called out, "Still! I think it can be destroyed!"

"Only one way to find out!" Sonic yelled.

Leaping off from Shadow's hand, the blue dude dashed forward in a spinning ball. He struck the dark golem square in the head, and caused it to turn back in pain. Falling to the ground, Sonic gave a cocky grin, but the golem wasn't to pleased. Head aiming down, it shot out a purple beam that nearly struck the blue hero. Fortunately, Shadow dashed by in his usual yellow form, saving Sonic from sure death.

"You idiot," he commented, "you don't know what that thing can do."

"Well at least I tried something!" Sonic yelled back.

"Watch out, its attacking again!" Rouge warned.

Its hand stretched forward, and it tried to constricting its flying foes. The heroes dispersed quickly, and started flying around like annoying flies. The monsters head started to jerk around, while it began producing large amounts of dark energy. Firing out another being, it tried its hardest to strike the flying foes. With a quick dodged, Knuckles avoided sure pain from the blast. Because of this, he was given the opportune moment to strike down his foe. Pulling back, he suddenly dashed forward, fists first. He gained so much inertia, he dove inside, and through the dark golem. Landing on the other side, he caused the visible hole to appear in the monster's body. It clenched its pain body, wailed out in pain, and then exploded into darkness.

Unfortunately though, it wasn't the only one.

All around the room, many more dark goliaths appeared, all with the same size and power.

"That can't be good!" Sonic commented, gazing at the rapidly appearing foes. Shadow, however, was a bit more confident in his victory.

"Fools!" he yelled out, "There's no strength in numbers!"

Releasing Sonic, he let the blue hero fall to the ground, much to his ire. Shadow didn't care though, he began to focus his energies, and a second later, his body exploded in a red aura.

"CHAOS BOOST!" he yelled out.

Almost immediately, the darkness in the room subsided. The shadows covering the floor dissipated, and a certain demon was purged from the ground.

"What!?" Mephiles said, as he now floated above the ground, "NO! Not again!"

Gazing forward, his face met Shadow's fist.

The red covered agent gave a star punch square to Mephiles' face, sending him crashing into the ground. Free to move on the regular floor again, Sonic dashed up to the demon. He began to circle around him over and over again, and eventually created a miniature tornado. The strong forces of wind lifted Mephiles up, and when Sonic stopped, he stopped rising. Falling to the ground quickly, Sonic delivered a terrific uppercut, one that sent Mephiles flying away. The demon glided through the air, before his body was stricken by a powerful lightning bolt. But, where did said lighting bolt come from? They were inside, weren't they?

Knuckles stood beside Mephiles, focusing his energies. Raising his hands, he caused another lightning bolt to fall atop the black demon. This bolt caused Mephiles' body to bounce off of the earth, and back into the air. Knuckles, leaped forward, grabbed Mephiles by the body, and then slammed him head first into the ground, like some sort of wrestler. Picking him up again, he delivered a powerful punch to the face, one that sent Mephiles flying into the wall.

With the golden aura surrounding the walls of the dome room, Mephiles was forced off of it. He tried to regain his composure, but he was attacked by a round house kick to the face. Instead of falling though, a slender metallic hand picked him back up. Mephiles gazed forward, and saw Rouge, eyes red with action. She lifted her foot, and started to pelt his body continuously with kicks. Every area of the demon's body was just a target for Rouge. And since she was Cyber Rouge now, there was literally no way she could have skipped an area. The speeds she was going at was nigh invisible, but the pain was all to real. Mephiles was thrusted back by one attack, and Rouge stopped her assault. Grabbing him by the chest, she tossed him over his shoulder, where he landed right in Shadow's blazing red midst.

He grabbed the demon by the shoulder, pulled back his left hand, and delivered an uppercut that sent him into the air. Not pleased with his attack though, he leaped up in the air, and started striking him with punches and kicks. One final kick knocked him away, and he was sent careening to the other end of the room, at which point Shadow vanished. In a red flash, he reappeared behind Mephiles, and started striking him again with a flurry of punches and kicks. With one final kick, he sent the demon away again, and once again he vanished. Shadow did this two more times, before performing a double fisted slam, which threw the demon head first into the ground.

Mephiles slammed against it with a loud 'BANG!', and he bounced off seconds later. His body started to drag against the ground, and he came to a stop near the command console's side. With a cough he got to his nonexistent feet. Before the heroes could continue their attack, he sunk into the ground, once again causing darkness to fill the floor.

"Great!" Sonic yelled, annoyed, "He ran away!"

"That coward!" Knuckles yelled.

"Call me what you please!" Mephiles yelled, "But the outcome of this battle will be the same! Try as you might, heroes, but you lose!"

Instead of dark golems this time, Mephiles produced a series of small, doll-like versions of himself. These dolls surrounded everyone in the room, and quickly covered them. They tried to escape their small hands, but it was all for naught.

"Dammit!" Shadow yelled, "Get off of me you bastards!"

He started hurling Chaos Spears left and right, but they all hit nothing.

"Shadow!" Cyber Rouge yelled, "I can't move!"

"They're just everywhere!" Knuckles yelled.

"And I still can't move!" Sonic commented.

"Leave it to me!" Shadow yelled.

Suddenly, Shadow slipped into a gap produced by time and space. Hidden to all, he suddenly reappeared in the center of the room, causing a bubble of Chaos Energy to surround him. The bubble flashed random dark colors such a violet and black, and sent the Mephiles dolls around him flying away. With that, Shadow began charging up a mass of energy, and he thrusted his hands out.

"CHAOS BLAST!" he yelled, sending a wave of red out that surrounded the entire room.

Somehow, Shadow made it safe for his allies, while dangerous for pretty much everything else. The Mephiles dolls were evaporated, while the floor returned to its normal metallic self. Just like last time, Mephiles was expunged from it, and sent into the air.

"Dammit!" he yelled, "Not again!"

"Heads up!" Sonic suddenly yelled.

Mephiles spun around, met five fingers to the face. Did, Sonic just slap him? As his mind tried to parse this information, he was stricken in the face by Sonic's powerful foot. The attack blew him back, and he immediately crashed into the command console.

"Have you had enough yet?" Sonic questioned, showing a grin.

Mephiles stood up tall, while he his eyes showed anger. But instead of attacking, he began laughing. His laughing was only growing too.

"What's wrong?" Shadow questioned, dropping to the ground, "Have you finally lost your mind?"

"Lost my mind?" Mephiles stated, "No... but you've lost your life!"

A spear thrusted forward from Mephiles' hands, but everyone was able to dodge it.

"Fool me once!" Shadow yelled.

But Mephiles continued laughing. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed, his voice only growing with each second. Getting annoyed, Shadow grabbed the demon by his neck.

"It ends now, Mephiles." he stated.

"Uh... Shadow..." Sonic's voice whispered from behind.

"Shut it, Sonic!" he stated, "I'm going to finish this..."

"You should listen to your friend," Mephiles commented, his chuckles growing, "you might notice something!"

Why did Shadow feel weak suddenly. His ruby eyes widened, and he felt Sonic's hand tugging on his shoulder.

"Hope!" Rouge's voice cried, "HOPE!?"

Mephiles laughed, and laughed.

Shadow turned around. On the other end of the dome room, he saw Cyber Rouge kneeling. In her hands, Hope. The blonde haired girl had a hole through her body, one that oozed blood. And her eyes... they just... stared...

"What did I promise you again?" Mephiles said, "I said, I'd take everything that ever mattered away from you, didn't I!?"

Shadow's grip faltered.

"Shadow," he heard, a voice, _her voice_, call out, "just give them..."

No... not again...

"A chance..."

NO! NOT AGAIN!

"To be..."

Just... not again...

"Happy..."

"Hope!" Rouge's voice called out, "Please get up..."

Mephiles' laughter, it continued to grow.

Was this what Shadow was destined for? Everyone he ever loved, would they just be victims in his life? Would they always be that way? Would life for him always be that life? Would it? Would it?

"Hope..." he said lowly from his voice.

"It all ends..." Mephiles said, struggling to his feet from behind, "Everything... time, space... your life!" his green snakes floated over to the quaking Time Gate, "I've tried my hardest to bring him to life! To return him to me!"

Shadow made his way to Hope. She looked so lifeless.

"Everything I've done! It was to return him to life!"

For some reason, he couldn't believe it. Not Hope... he removed his glove...

"And soon! Everything shall be nothing!"

He grabbed a hold of Hope's hand... it was cold...

"Everything you've done up to this point! It was fruitless!"

He started dragging her cold, lifeless hand against his cheek.

"Can't you see it, Shadow!? Can't you see it!?"

She made a movement, a twitch at most. It gave Shadow hope, and ended it just as quickly.

"Life... death... they shall become one..."

"Hope?" Shadow whispered. He dragged his hand against her cheek, "Hope?"

"How does it feel, Shadow? Tell me, how does it feel?"

"Hope?" Shadow ignored, "Hope?"

"It ends now..." Mephiles said lowly.

"Shadow..." Rouge said, "Shadow..." she was... at a lost for words.

"To me, Iblis..." Mephiles stated.

The Time Gate started to expel large amounts of fire. The heat index in the room started to go off into unimaginable heights. Sonic started to pant, as the heat got unbearable, and Knuckles was about to give out. To his side, Shadow heard Rouge's mind begin to fry, as she let out a scream in pain. But... he just didn't care... why should he? This was what his life was going to equate. Everyone dead... but him... yeah... this was what life was meant to equate...

So, accepting fate, he grabbed a hold of Hope, and hugged her close. Her blood was rapidly dying his fur a crimson, but he cared not.

"Hope..." he whispered into her ear, "I'm sorry..."

For some reason, he just felt the need, to kiss her. Despite everything, despite the way his friends were dying around him, he felt like he should do this.

He reached forward with his lips, and pressed them against her cold ones.

Something odd happened at that moment.

For some reason, and reasons Shadow couldn't explain.

The aura around his body that usual represented power...

It changed green...


	18. Iblis Trigger

Iblis Trigger

Mephiles' crystal hand-held tightly onto the purple Chaos Emerald. It was time to finish this. Silver failed, that fool Eggman failed, and even he failed to kill Shadow. No matter...

The blue fool and the princess were walking back, returning to the kingdom Soleanna. Walking, the fools... He needed a distraction, or else they would surely fight back. They could try... they would fail...

Instead, he casted out the Purple Chaos Emerald he owned. It floated to them, caught them off guard, and started shining a magnificent brilliance. That's when he arose, from the ground behind them, in a misty cloud of darkness. He glared at the two fools with his green snake eyes, and from his hands, he prepared. His jagged and rocky appendage pointed palm open toward the blue hero, and he fired.

His silver blade, surrounded in an evil aura flew flawlessly through the air. It met its target perfectly. The foolish princess let out a gasp, while her 'hero' fell to his knees. His hand fell over his chest, and he fell so slowly toward the earth.

She wasted no time to get to his side, nor did she waste any time to try and awaken him. She cried out his name over and over again, but it was all useless. The demon, he found it hilarious. He started laughing as if it was the last day on this earth.

But of course, it _was_ his laugh day on this earth. He wasn't intending on staying like this for much longer.

The foolish princess turned over her hero. Saying out his name one last time, she assured the truth. His hand opened up, the hand he used to cover his wound. It was drenched in blood. Her eyes closed, she couldn't believe. No... she refused to believe it!

"No..." she cried out, "No!"

Mephiles' laughter stopped. Time for the moment of truth.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" she yelled out to the heavens.

She was crying...

Flames of mystical levels erupted from her body, and hovered around in the sky. It surrounded her, circled into a ball, and sent the surrounding area for levels of heat not known to man. And the demon stood, watching.

"Finally!" he cried out, his voice sadistic and maniacal, "The seal has broken!" he stretched his arms out high, "At long last, I will be able to join with you!" the flames, they started to circle on another in the sky, "IBLIS!"

The demon withdrew his Chaos Emerald. It shined with brilliance, as if it too knew what needed to be done.

"Now, Chaos Emerald," the monster stated, "Its time for the final curtain call!"

The Chaos Emerald floated into the sky. In a blinding flash of light, it was joined by the six other jewels of power. The Demon started flying skyward, and soon, he was surrounded by the seven objects coveted so by the earth. With the power of the Emeralds, the Demon could bond with the monster Iblis itself. He could feel his body change in various ways, in various forms. They had gone to long separated from one another, like an incomplete puzzle. But it ended now...

The Demon... the Flames... they were no longer apart, but together. No longer lowly... but a god...

...

Mephiles stood in the center of the Time Gate Room, as the red Chaos Emerald laid firmly in his satanic hand.

Everything he planned, it came to fruition. Shadow bringing the Chaos Emerald, the creation of the Time Gate, letting that retched hedgehog see the love flush from his life. Sure, he wished he could have tortured that black hedgehog a bit more, but this was of more importance. To be reunited, with his brother, again. To be whole, once more...

"I see..." the demon commented, feeling the presence of he of which he hated, "So you haven't fallen yet, have you?"

He could hear the click of his Air Shoes travel against the metal floor. The green Chaos Emerald appeared. Mephiles' eyes traveled down to the blue hero Sonic. The room had gotten so hot, he couldn't stand or remain conscious any more. He wasn't dead yet... but he would be soon... The yellow Chaos Emerald appeared. His green snakes traveled to Knuckles. When he tried to fuse with Iblis last time, Mephiles never paid attention to the red echidna. Regardless, there he laid, drool from his mouth, eyes in skull. He had died already... The purple Chaos Emerald appeared. Over at the corner, he saw Cyber Rouge. How interesting, that bat was. He hated her. Always so faithful to Shadow, so loyal. How could anyone be loyal to that filthy hedgehog? She laid there, in her robot form, her head shattered from the heat. The blue Chaos Emerald appeared. Finally, the last one, that blonde girl. She was an interesting one, indeed. After taking her shade, Mephiles learned some interesting things about her. Shadow wasn't her first crush, but her greatest one indeed. She always had a thing for mobians, she always did. It didn't win her much friends, and in fact alienated her greatly. Anyway, she laid there, with the hole in her body that he created. Taking her away, it was the greatest pain ever caused by Shadow. He loved her... he actually loved her... The white Chaos Emerald appeared.

The clicking got closer and closer. Here he comes...

Mephiles and Shadow...

Darkness vs Darkness...

When light faces the foe it can't defeat, then what happens when evil wins?

What happens?

What...

The darkness that follows the darkness. The shadow's shadows... the evil within evil... The hate, the malice, the sadist, the everything. When violence clashes against violence... When it all falls down...

The orange Chaos Emerald appeared.

"I don't understand you..." Mephiles said, "I've killed your friends, your loved ones... your lover... and yet you don't fall... why?"

"You mistook my faith in my allies, as my strength..." Shadow answered, his voice different... his voice filled with promise... with hope, "In reality... it's the opposite..."

Mephiles had to laugh at that.

"You're the strength that holds your friends? Your world, Shadow?"

"I'm the strength that holds everything together... I'm the Ultimate Life form. I do the things the heroes can't... I win the fights that warriors lose... I perform acts deemed evil, and vile... I'm the hero this planet needs, and the one they hate..." he grew silent, "I'm Shadow the hedgehog..."

"The hero this planet needs, and the one they hate..." Mephiles repeated, "Do you really see yourself as that, Shadow? A fallen angel of disrepair?"

"More like a risen demon searching atonement..." he answered.

"No... you are no demon..." Mephiles commented, "I am a demon..."

"You, a demon?" Shadow scoffed, "No... you are merely the left over bits of a final design."

"Oh? Is that so? Do you remember now, Shadow?"

"It must be the fact that this area is in some time warp," Shadow stated, "but I remember bits of you... Iblis, the Crisis City, what happened to the world when you succeeded in your plans... It may be sparse, but I know the horrors at the end of the time, the lives slaughtered by your insane and twisted lust for destruction."

"So, are you going to try and stop me? All alone?"

"As much as I hate to admit it... I'm never alone... not now... not ever..."

Mephiles took in a deep breath. The Time Gate was changing wildly between images. Mephiles was searching for it, for Iblis. Just a little more time...

"What are you going to do, Shadow?" Mephiles commented, feeling a snip of Chaos Energy rush through the area.

"You can try your hardest to kill my friends," Shadow stated, "but as long as I'm here, I will never let your plans continue..."

Mephiles turned around. Shadow stood behind him, his quills rising upward with power. His body was covered in a green aura, one that gave off a different kind of Chaos Energy. Mephiles wasn't sure what to do... he had never seen Shadow do such a thing before. But as Shadow's hands moved toward his inhibitor rings, he remembered being defeated by the hedgehog's full power. He wouldn't allow it again.

Pulling back his hand, he thrusted it forward, and sent out another one of his spear like blades. It struck Shadow, and disintegrated, much to the demon's fear. Shadow showed no concern for Mephiles, nor his attacks. Grabbing a hold of one of his inhibitor rings, he snapped it. It opened up, and slipped from his wrist, before collapsing on the ground. Shadow shifted his attention to his other inhibitor ring, and he snapped that one off too.

Now, both rings fell at his toes. Shadow felt a rush of energy enter his body, as he was now fully connected to the Chaos Force itself. Shadow leaned back, and turned his head away. He saw Sonic... he was dead... he saw Knuckles... he was dead... he saw Rouge... she was dead... and he saw Hope... She was dead...

Time to rectify that...

"As long as I'm living," Shadow said, the aura around his body waving wildly, "as long as I have my soul! I will fight!"

He pulled in his arms. The feelings of hate, the feelings of love, they both filled him up at the same time. He despised Mephiles, that was known, but he did care for this planet. As cold as aloof as he was, he valued the planet he protected. Maybe not at first, but he did grow to love it. Yeah... he did... he grew to cherish everyone, and everything...

He was tired of being alone...

"CHAOS BLAST!"

This one was different. Instead of the great red bubble that would expand and destroy everything, this one was more of a wave. From Shadow's body, he produced a circular wave that brushed up everywhere. It touched Mephiles first, and slammed him with a force rivaling 30 bullet trains moving at top speeds. The demon was thus thrusted into the Time Gate, where he felt a searing and burning pain enter his body. He bounced off seconds later, and collapsed onto the ground.

The wave continued however. It moved so quickly, and laid atop the fallen heroes in the room. It shined over their bodies, and caused a lively aura to shine over them.

Jade eyes opened first. The area was no longer hot, much to his pleasure. Still, he was unsure of what just happened.

"Whoa," he murmured, lurching up, "I don't wanna make that a habit..."

He got up a second later, though his body did give off a few moments of pain. Gazing around, he saw Shadow, who had collapsed to the earth.

"Shadow!" he called out, before running up.

Next to awaken, was purple eyes. Knuckles gazed to the room's ceiling, and scanned the Master Emerald that hung upside down. Strange, this was the first time he noticed it. And he was angry.

"Hey!" he yelled leaping up, "What the hell is that all about!?"

He turned around a moment later, to see Sonic trying to get Shadow to his feet. Laying his hand on his head, the echidna then realized that he was actually dead for a few minutes there. Chills ran down his spine at that thought. He was actually _dead_.

"Shadow, Sonic!" he yelled, jogging up to them.

The next was teal. Cyber Rouge's optics beamed to life after a brief start-up moment. As she got to her knees, her body performed a self scan. Everything came back at 100% capacity, as if she had been in sleep mode. But, she knew she died, she felt the pain enter her mechanical brain. Oddly enough, she was perfectly fine, as if the heat hadn't killed her.

Her targeting parameter then zipped onto her eyes, and she took the time to scan the small girl before her. Her blue eyes opened up.

Hope let out a groan, as she tried to come to terms with what had happened. She hadn't even noticed it at first. When the blade entered her, she just remembered darkness. But, it was now as if she was never hurt in the first place. The only thing that showed any kind of injury to her body, was her clothing. A whole was in it, other than that, she was completely fine.

"What... happened?" she questioned, gazing at her mechanic hands.

"Hope?" Cyber Rouge called, surprised, "Are you okay?"

The bet stretched forward its cold steel hand, and grasped on to the girls human ones. With aid from her friend, the mechanic got to her feet slowly.

"Rouge!" Sonic's voice called, "We need help over here!"

Both the mechanic and the cybernetic bat gazed over to the blue hero. He was trying to help Shadow to his feet, but the dark hedgehog wasn't doing to well. Hope didn't like seeing that much. She and the bat ran up to them a second later, and noticed just how tired Shadow was.

"Shadow," Sonic said, "stop trying to fight me!"

"I'm not trying to fight you!" he yelled, "You just keep yanking me every which way!"

"But you need to get up! What did Mephiles do to you!?"

"I did this to me!" he pointed to his inhibitor rings, "I took them off, and I get tired when I do that!"

"Oh..." Sonic said, dumbfounded, "Then why didn't you just say so? I wouldn't have been trying to resuscitate you like that."

"Believe me, that's a thought I don't want in my head..."

There was a light laughter at Shadow's words, which did well to lighten the tension. But Hope kept her eyes trained on Shadow's inhibitor rings. She lifted them up slowly, before shifting her attention back to her beloved.

"Shadow..." she said, gaining his attention.

The black hedgehog looked to her with his ruby eyes. If he was surprised to see her, he didn't show it.

"What did you do?" she asked, reaching forward with his golden bands.

"I don't know..." he answered, easily enough.

"Well," brushing hair from her face, she gave a smile, "I'm happy you did it..."

At the same time, both Shadow and Hope reach forward. With a loving touch, she grabbed his gloves, and slid his gold inhibitor rings back onto his risks. A noticable 'CLICK!' noise echoed after doing so, and Shadow let out a relieved sigh.

"Thanks..." he said.

His hand grabbed on to her's, and she help him to his feet a moment later. Though he was still tired, he wasn't as exhausted as he was when he slipped the golden bands off. He was getting back to himself though, that was good.

"Its not over yet..." an evil voice called out.

The entire group's gaze floated over to Mephiles. He sat hunched over on his knees, as he recoiled from Shadow's green Chaos Blast. Getting to his feet, he kept his body hunched over, as his presence gave off an evil aura. Still...

"What does it take to kill you!?" Sonic yelled, getting annoyed.

"I can ask the same thing!" Mephiles roared back, "No matter how hard I try, no matter what plan I devise, you all find a way to live!"

"You can't kill heroes..." Knuckles stated, pointing forward the spikes on his fists.

It must have been a joke, because Mephiles started laughing. His satanic roars echoed over the area, and they only grew.

"Haven't you noticed them yet!" he questioned, "Those seven rocks you covet so much!?"

Now that Mephiles mentioned it, they hadn't noticed them. Sonic glared up, and noticed the seven Chaos Emeralds float around the Master Emerald. When did they get here?

"Its time for me to finish this!" Mephiles yelled, "Iblis!"

The flames that killed them all from before returned. Unlike last time though, it wasn't extremely hot and life ending. This time, with the power of the Chaos Emeralds, the flames began to surround Mephiles. Iblis flames were empowering. The demon, he could feel his body morph and change under a newly developing sheen of light. Yes, he would be complete, and unlike last time, there would be no defeat! Today, victory would be Mephiles'!

Wait... who was laughing.

For a change, it wasn't Mephiles. Nor was it Shadow, or Sonic, or Rouge, or Knuckles. No... this laughter was from a girl, and was childish. It was Hope. Everyone looked at her, as she laughed like someone had been tickling her nonstop. Everyone wanted to know why, but she just couldn't stop.

"Hope?" Shadow questioned, raising a brow, "What are you doing?"

"Do you really think," she questioned, her laughter quieting down to a chuckle, "That I would just help build a Time Gate _after_ you lied to me?"

Mephiles, despite the flames covering his body, gave a confused look.

"What are you going on about?"

Slowly, she made her way to the Time Gate's controls. If she were going to try and turn the gate off now, it would be pointless, as Mephiles locked the controls. But, that's not what she was planning, not at all.

"Remember, you and Uncle Ivo left me alone in this room, to work!" she shot Mephiles a glare, "You underestimated me, because I was some small, fragile, little girl, and for a moment there, you had a reason to..." Pressing a button on the console, she caused a hidden slot to appear, "But I bounced back, I prepared for this blasted contraption's downfall!" in the slot, a lever appeared, "And it ends now!"

With a quick tug, she pulled the lever back. At first, nothing happened, before... explosions.

The ceiling erupted into flames, as an unknown bomb placed in it went off, but that wasn't it. Another bomb went off beside the time gate, and then anther one in the time gate itself. All around the room, explosions rattled the room, from the floors, the walls, the ceiling, and the Time Gate itself. The loud noise of alarms banged through the room as this went on.

"This room isn't stable!" Rouge yelled gazing up, "We need to get out of here!"

"NO!" Mephiles screamed, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

With the Time Gate crumbling, he felt the wormhole through space and time begin to waver and ripple. The flames he was gaining was rapidly beginning to diminish.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Mephiles cried.

From the ceiling, the Master Emerald fell. Now that it wasn't powering the Time Gate any more, the porthole began to fade away. The flames were thus ended prematurely.

"Okay!" Sonic said, dodging a fallen piece of the ceiling, "Let's get out of here!"

Already understanding the plan, the group scrambled. Knuckles procured his Master Emerald first, before rushing over to the room's door. Pulling back his fist, he delivered a megaton punch that blew the door open from force alone. Seconds later, Shadow and Sonic dashed out as twin yellow streaks, in Shadow's arms was Hope. Rouge also flew out, with her jet engines giving her the boost needed to escape the flames of the exploding room.

Even though it was just one room, the fires continued to spread. Gazing down to the girl in his arms, Shadow yelled out,

"What bomb did you use!?"

"One of Robotnik's old ones! I didn't think it was this strong!"

With another push of speed, the quintet of heroes were able to escape the flames and make their way to a safer hall. The flames continued to spread though, and it was only going to be a few minutes before they engulfed the Palace.

Another rumble quaked through the building suddenly. But there was no way that could have been caused by the explosions. Regardless, they needed to escape, to bad the Egg Palace was virtual maze.

"Dammit!" Sonic yelled, gazing down the many halls, "Knuckles, make us a hole in the wall, will ya!?"

"I've got it!" Shadow yelled out instead.

Flashing blue, the black hedgehog began to focus his energies.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

His body expelled a bright light, and when it subsided, the group was safely outside. To be free from the hot insides of the palace was a welcome change of space. To bad Genocide City still had the scars of battle from Shadow's fights, Rouge's fight, and Sonic's fight. Still...

"Is it over?" Hope commented, gazing up to the Egg Palace.

"No," Shadow murmured, "it's not over yet..."

The Egg Palace began to shake. A bright light from the clouds suddenly awakened, and what sounded like a chorus singing came with it. This light destroyed the dark clouds of Genocide city, and showed the sun that lied way up high. The wind in the area increased, and the Egg Palace continued to shake.

From behind the castle, they saw a great wing appear. It was surrounded by what appeared to be some metallic armor. A few seconds later, another wing exploded from the castles' backside. This one was, made entirely of lava, and had dark crystals reminiscent of Mephiles grow on it. A moment later, from the Egg Palace's front side, a great arm appeared. This one looked extremely similar to Mephiles arm, expect lines of lava was noticeable in it, as well as pulsating purple lights. A moment later, another arm appeared, this one more silver and complete. It had three fingers at the end of it's arm, which was in direct contrast to the five fingers of the other hand. The Egg Palace had become unstable thanks to the explosion, and the birth of this... monster... It started falling, and eventually revealed the creäture to all who could see it. Its body was a strange fusion of lava, angelic armor, and dark crystals. It shimmered in the bright light it created, and stretched forth its head. Speaking of which, the head was a strange and contorted thing that looked like a cross between a bird, and Satan, with a few horns made of dark crystals thrown in just in case. And yet, that head had a face. Its eyes, were the green snakes belonging to Mephiles, while its mouth looked violent and reptilian like.

So what was this thing? Why did it exist? Where did it come from? And, could it be defeated?

The creäture reached out its hands, and placed them firmly on the ground. Using its mighty strength, it gave a heave which lifted the monster in the air, and away from the Egg Palace's base. Its twisted wings began to flap, and this creäture with no legs started flying.

"Well then," Sonic stated, laying a hand on his chin, "I guess it's not going to be as easy as I thought..."

Well... there was no point waiting anymore...

Shadow placed Hope safely on the ground, before tightening his fists. Ruby eyes looking toward the flying being, he started off. Sonic let out a chuckle, and not wanting to be shown up by his rival, he started walking off first. With a gruff sigh, Knuckles shifted his attention to Rouge. Doing something he would never do again, he handed her the Master Emerald.

"I have my eye on you, bat!" he warned, before stepping off.

Seconds later, the trio of men started running off for the flying beast. Side by side, they broke the sound barrier as the distance between them and the monster started to close.

"I love it!" Sonic yelled, "The Heroes of Mobius! Saving the world!"

All around them, they appeared. The Chaos Emeralds. Such strange objects. They always seem to arrive when one needs them the most. Sonic closed his eyes, and when they opened back up, they were red. His blue fur started to shimmer, and his feet left the ground. Super Sonic...

Knuckles did likewise. His purple eyes closed shut, and he started to focus. Honestly, he felt both ancy and terrified. Not because of this monster, but because of his Super State. He hadn't enacted it in a long time. And no, the battle with Metal Sonic doesn't count! A second later, his eyes opened, revealing his purple eyes were now red. His red fur grew lighter in shade, and became near pink. But anyone who would mock him would surely face the wrath, of Super Knuckles. Fist pointing forward, he took of skyward as well.

Lastly was Shadow. He could feel the energies of the Emeralds fill him, and yet, he stayed normal for a bit longer. Whenever he transformed, he thought about Maria. Shadow loved her, if that wasn't obvious. Hell, he tried to destroy all life on Earth because of her, though that was because of memory tampering. Still, he always wondered how many parts of Gerald, and how many parts was his own wishes and will. But enough about that... what he was thinking about now, wasn't his beloved Maria, but Hope. This was it... if he didn't stop that being, he was sure it would be the death of not only her, but the world. He couldn't have that, of course. Not now, not ever... He took off with his Air Shoes, and his fur started to change. Shifting from black to a golden-yellow, his transformation came to an end. Super Shadow...

The trio took off skyward, and made their way before this demonic, yet oddly angelic, creäture.

The monster shifted its attention to them, as its wings flapped up and down continuously.

"Sed quid faciat mihi!?" this monster yelled out.

"What did it just say?" Sonic questioned.

"Te perdidit mutatio!" it cried, "Ego imperfectum!"

"Well I don't care what it is!" Knuckles yelled, "It goes down today!"

Suddenly a buzzing noise echoed from Shadow's glove. Pressing a button on it, Shadow turned it on for people to hear.

"Shadow?" Rouge cried out, "Can you here me?"

"Loud and clear..." he answered as he gazed to the being before him.

"Shadow!" Hope interrupted, "That thing, its speaking Latin! But pretty broken Latin! It's saying its imperfect, and the transformation was incomplete! That thing is Mephiles! He tried to fuse with Iblis, but it didn't come out right since the Time Gate was closed!"

"Not only that," Rouge said, "But this thing is giving off energy vaguely similar to Eggman's Time Eater. If it stays together for to long, there's no telling what it can do to time and space!"

"So we'll just have to kill it quickly!" Sonic said, "Good thing Sonic's my first name!"

"Thanks for the information Rouge and Hope," Shadow said, "now find a place to hide, understood?"

"Okay..." Rouge commented.

"And Shadow!" Hope called again, "I... I love you..."

He gazed to his glove.

"Copy that..." he answered.

Ruby eyes looking forward, he scanned closely the final monster before him. This, Imperfect Solaris, was a plague on all life. Time to end it...

With unspoken words, the trio of Super Heroes dashed forward.

And thus, the final battle began...

* * *

_Trivia Time!_

_Yes, things are heating up and cooling down at the same time. Can't you see it? The ending coming into sight? Yeah, pains me to say it too._

_So, time for some of that juicy trivia!_

_First of all, the deus ex machina. I hate deus ex machinas! They usually come out of nowhere and make a convenient plot element so the hero could do something or not do something. Like in Avatar the Last Airbender, where that Lion Turtle taught Aang how to take away people's bending, so he wouldn't kill the Fire Lord... I hate that crap._

_So when it came time to heal everyone, I tried my hardest to make it seem not so... deus ex, if you catch my drift. Well, a reviewer of mine named Reclaimer 7 pointed out in Chapter 13, that Shadow's aura was changing different colors, showing he had hidden powers he was unaware of. This is one of them, the Heal Wave... or Heal Pulse... wait... that's a Pokemon move... oh well..._

_Next, Hope's little bombing of the Time Gate room. This one is more noticeable. In Chapter 14, she started to work after her Uncle left. She was angry and ready to get work done. This is the outcome of that. If I ruined some of the mystery in my own story by telling you that, I apologize. I just don't want a lot of confusion to plague my tale._

_Another thing is Super Knuckles. Isn't it kind of strange how in Sonic Heroes only Sonic went Super, and Tails and Knuckles were regulated to those stupid bubbles? Didn't you hate that? I understand for Tails, since he needs the Super Chaos Emeralds to go Super, but Knuckles could go Super with just the normal Chaos Emeralds in Sonic and Knuckles! Why did they give him that stupid bubble!? Great... I just proved my nerdiness..._

_Last but not least, the beginning. If you didn't noticed, that beginning part was from Sonic '06, when Mephiles killed Sonic and fused with Iblis. That's obvious, but ya'know, I thought I should explain just in case._

_Well, that's enough for now..._

_The ending is coming! And it'll be... grand..._

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	19. Imperfection

Imperfection

Imperfect Solaris... a being that's never suppose to exist, and yet does by the twisted hands of fate. Great in size, and unconquerable in power, it longs for its finished self. But it will never get it. Time is but a mere plaything to this monster, and it intends to use it to destroy all. What does it want, and why does it want it, no one knows. But if it lives... we all fall...

"Aut non absolvitur! Ecce ego stridebo super vos!" Imperfect Solaris roared, its green snakes locking onto its super foes.

"I'm not sure what its saying," Sonic yelled, "but that thing sounds pissed!"

"Enough talk!" Shadow yelled, "Just action!"

Pulling his hands back, he fired out a plethora of Chaos Lances. The red bolts of super energy flew flawlessly through the air, and connected itself with Imperfect Solaris' body. The Lances caused explosions once they hit, but the attack itself did very little to the flying god. It still gained its attention though. Imperfect Solaris aimed its eyes at Shadow, let out a loud roar, then stretched forward its arm made of lava. The super hedgehog dodged the strike in time, causing the lava to slam onto the Genocide City streets. Pulling back its super heated hand, the unfinished god tried its hardest to strike at his flying foes. The lava strike flew across the sky in a slashing movement, but hit nothing, fortunately enough.

Once again, Shadow fired a series of Chaos Lances at the monster. It lifted its armored claw and deflected the attack easily. Using its moment of defense, Sonic dashed skyward. Pinpointing his eyesight on the monster's head, he dashed forward like a virtual arrow of light. He was moving so fast, and he gained so much inertia, no one could stop him. So by the time Imperfect Solaris noticed he was heading its way, it could only sit there. Sonic slammed against the being's head with so much force, he forced it to the ground. With a loud and uproarious crush, it fell into Genocide City, uprooting dirt, steel, and buildings.

Almost immediately, Sonic reappeared in the sky, as if he had never left. Giving a grin, he shifted his attention to Shadow, who merely gave a sarcastic clap. A second later, a pulsating red streak dashed through the air. Knuckles dashed down, his fists shining green with the power of the Chaos Emeralds, and performed a megaton punch of super strength to Imperfect Solaris' body. A large explosion, reminiscent of a mushroom cloud, constricted everyone's view after the attack connected. Once the sound and the explosion subsided, the sunlight revealed a near impervious Imperfect Solaris, holding onto Knuckles with its armored hand.

Its grip was rapidly increasing, and Knuckles was screaming out in pain. Sonic dashed forward first, while Shadow charged up one single Chaos Lance. He shot it out, and it flew straight toward the god's hand. Imperfect Solaris saw this coming though, and it used a move no one knew it had.

Before the Chaos Lance, Imperfect Solaris created a time gate. The circular gate way swallowed the red energy blast hole, and sent it to a place only it knew. A moment later, another gate way opened up, this one in front of Sonic. Flying out of said gate way, was Shadow's Chaos Lance. It came out so fast, Sonic didn't have time to dodge it, and he was met with an extreme and intense pain.

The explosion from the Chaos Lance threw Sonic to the ground, to which he crashed into a building, causing it to fall atop him. Shadow's eyes followed Sonic's descent, before returning to the being before him. He needed to think. If that thing could create time gates, then running head first into it would be foolish and downright stupid.

"Ah, dammit," Sonic murmured, flying up, "that hurt..."

"A little help here!?" Knuckles roared out.

"Sonic," Shadow whispered, "if that thing can create wormholes, then there's not telling what it can do."

"So what, have a plan?" the blue blur replied.

"Of course I do, stay put..."

Shadow closed his eyes and began focusing. In his head, he started thinking about Rouge, and Omega, and Hope, specifically Hope. A moment later, his eyes opened, and his golden fur had a blue aura surrounding it. Locking his sights on Knuckles, he dashed forward at speeds not even Sonic could see. It was as if he vanished. He reappeared on Imperfect Solaris' armored hand, and grabbed Knuckles with all his might. Once the god realized its space had been invaded, it tried to swat its foe like a bug. But Shadow was quick, and he immediately pried Knuckles from his crushing trap. Once he did that, the two separated in the skies, and regrouped with Sonic.

"Dammit," Knuckles said, rubbing his body, "I delivered a punch with like, the force of an A-bomb on that thing! Why isn't it dead!"

"It can control time!" Hope's voice called through Shadow's com link.

"You didn't notice it before, but when Knuckles punched it, it took the time to heal its wounds!" Rouge added.

"So it can control time to the point that it can heal itself..." Sonic said, thinking on the information, "That's cheap!"

"Have any ideas?" Shadow asked of his allies.

"Use Chaos Control!" Hope yelled, "If you can stop his time control, you'll be able to do damage to him!"

Sonic and Knuckles' eyes moved over to Shadow.

"I'll see what I can do..." he murmured.

With a smile, Sonic dashed off to face the incomplete god. Knuckles lingered for a moment, before dashing of as well. Shadow stood behind, and glared down to the golden rings around his wrist. A Super Chaos Control. Impossible, no, but hard to maintain. It always seemed to take away his powers faster than if he just remained normal. Regardless, he had to do something. So with a nod, he dashed off.

Imperfect Solaris struck at Sonic with its claw, but it did nothing. The blue blur dodged the swipe, before striking its head with a super powered uppercut. The god's head bent with the fist, but it immediately countered with a strike from its lava arm. To his surprise, this attack was deflected by Knuckles, who caused a green shield to appear over his body. A second later, Knuckles countered with a punch to the god's chest. The blow knocked the monster back, where it crashed into one of Genocide City's many buildings.

Imperfect Solaris let out a pained cry, before shifting its attention to the blue skies above. Its wings flapping, it took to the sky once more. On its body, the injuries from Knuckles' strike began to fade.

"Oh no you don't!" Shadow yelled from above.

Flying down, he yelled out,

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

His body began to flash brilliantly, and he shot out a white beam of light toward the flying god. It tried to defend itself from the blast, but it was not a blast that one _could _defend itself from. The blinding light engulfed its body, and once it subsided, it showed that Knuckles strikes remained.

"Shadow," Sonic yelled, "you did it! It's not healing!"

The blue blur moved his attention to his ally, but to his horror, Shadow had fallen. The Ultimate Life form fell to the ground, and immediately hunched forward. He was breathing hard, and the golden sheen of his fur constantly changed back to its black state.

"No," Shadow could be heard saying, "I'm not going to give up, not so fast..."

The golden sheen exploding, he once again took to the skies.

"Shadow," Sonic said, flying up, "are you okay..."

He merely crossed his arms.

"Just worry about yourself..." he murmured.

"Okay, fine, be mad!"

The duo shifted their gaze to the broken god, and dashed off toward it. Now free from its healing nature, they were allowed to beat down on it as much as they pleased. Sonic's quick nature dashed up and down the god's body, rittling it fool of punches and kicks. Shadow's Chaos Lances and Chaos Blast struck the god's body constantly, and would always send it flying with pain. And Knuckles was perhaps the worst of all. Being nothing but an absolute powerhouse, every punch he threw was nothing but a meteor hit, one that would send the god collapsing into the ground. But all these attacks served to only make the god angry.

Knuckles dashed forward with a punch, but he was immediately swallowed up by a wormhole. A second later, he met the ground face first.

"What the hell just happened?" he questioned with a confused face, as he got to his feet.

"Knuckles watch out!" Sonic suddenly yelled.

The red super being gazed up, and saw a great beam of pure energy befall him. He was given little time to dodge it, so when he tried, he was still hit in the body. The blow threw him back into a building, which fell atop him with a crushing sound.

"Great!" Sonic yelled, "That thing can eat us with wormholes!"

"Then we'll have to be extra cautious!" Shadow answered.

He then shifted his attention to his com link.

"Hope, Rouge," he called, "do you have any ideas?"

He didn't get an answer.

"Hope!" he yelled out louder this time, "Rouge! Are you there!?"

Still, nothing. That was odd, they should have been well protected. They were nowhere near the battle, and were on the other side of Genocide City entirely. He had to find them, to make sure they were okay, but this Imperfect Chaos was something else. He needed to deal with the problem at hand.

Suddenly, Shadow was tackled by Sonic, who had just saved him from a blast of energy locked onto his position.

"Shadow are you okay!?" Sonic yelled as they floated safely away, "You dazed off for a moment there!"

"Let's focus on this thing!" Shadow ordered, his attention shifting.

"Oh, ya'know, a 'thanks' would be gracious!"

Not giving him the pleasure, Shadow dashed off for the temporal god. With a sigh, Sonic did too. Since Shadow arrived first, Imperfect Solaris tried its hardest to strike him. But instead of swatting at him, the god constructed black meteors from the invisible space before its body. The meteors set themselves a flame, and then shot forward with great speeds. Shadow stopped at the sight, before being striken by one of the meteors. He crashed into the earth, and was then bombarded by a rainstorm of these meteors. Using his energy, Shadow was able to warp to safety, but not without a few injuries.

"Dammit..." he murmured as he rubbed himself, "That hurt..."

Looking to his hand, he formed a Chaos Lance, and tossed it forward. The blast flew through the air, but was destroyed by a well-aimed meteor. Sonic, scoffing at the sight, dashed forward with his usual quick self. Unimpressed with Shadow's attempt at an attack, he tried to do his own thing against Imperfect Solaris. But, the meteors the monster was using came out at such quick speeds, with such great speeds, Sonic couldn't dodge all of them. One of them met his face, and he was thrown into the ground. After a quick shake of the head, the blue blur returned to the skies beside Shadow.

"Are you done being stupid?" Shadow asked.

"At least I'm trying something!" Sonic yelled, "I don't see you doing anything!"

"We can't fight that thing if it keeps throwing meteors at us... we need a shield..."

"I've got something!" Knuckles' voice boomed.

Suddenly, a large building was lifted into the sky, like it was nothing. His super strength bundled with his Super State made him a juggernaut, and he was showing it. As meteors flew his way, he used the building in his hand to block the oncoming strikes. And then, with one mighty heave, he threw the massive construct forward, where it crashed into Imperfect Solaris. Almost immediately, the god opened a wormhole, which ate the building. A second later, the super trio realized the building was falling atop them. But, with his powers at max, Knuckles delivered a punch which shattered the building into thousands of little pieces. They sprinkled the ground, and kept the heroes safe from harm.

Shadow's eyes moved over to Imperfect Solaris, who now flew in the skies before them.

"This is irking me!" Shadow remarked.

"Yeah!" Knuckles said, "No matter what we do, it won't go down!"

"It has to have a weak spot," Sonic yelled, "everything does!"

Growing with resolution, Sonic's jade eyes moved up and down Imperfect Chaos, in an attempt to locate some sort of opening. Whether it be big or small, he just needed something that showed this monster could be killed. But... why did this feel familiar?

Sonic felt as if he had done this before. As if, this wasn't the first time he battled something called Solaris. He remembered a small, golden sphere. One that lied in the chest.

He glared over to Imperfect Solaris, and searched for this golden sphere.

"It holds its consciousness..." he murmured.

"What was that?" Shadow asked.

Seemingly ignoring his call, Sonic dashed forward. The many meteors that Solaris fired, he dodged to the best of his ability. Sure, some hit him, but he kept on, his jade eyes locked onto the god's abdomen. One meteor flew his way, and he spun dash through, and upon coming out on the other side, he saw it. Cradled in the monster's abdomen, a distorted ball thing. It oozed lava, had purple crystals growing from it, and it pulsated as if it were a live. As soon as he saw it, he watched as the god's armor folded over the thing, hiding it from all to see. Filled with giddy, Sonic didn't even care as a meteorite struck him and sent him flying away. He returned to his allies from the blow, and relayed his discovery to them.

"That thing!" he yelled, "It has some sort of... heart or something!"

"How do you know?" Shadow questioned.

"I saw it, duh!" he turned to face it, "When it was attacking me, it showed its heart or soul, or whatever it was!"

"Why can't we see it now?" Knuckles asked.

"Because it sealed it back up! I think that it only shows this thing when its attacking!"

"So what do you propose?" Shadow inquired.

"I say two of us gains it attention, while the third tries to hit its... heart, or whatever you wanna call it."

Gazing over to Knuckles, the echidna gave a smile and nod. Facing Shadow, the black hedgehog crossed his arms and nodded as well.

"We'll go with your plan, Sonic..." he said, as nonchalantly as always.

Moments later, the trio shifted their attention to the unfinished god. Understanding what they must do, they dashed off in yellow and red lights.

...

"Hope!" Rouge called as the area got darker, "Are you sure its wise to be here?"

The ceiling above them shaking over and over again didn't give the greatest sense of security. The blonde mechanic gazed skyward, as she heard the wild cries and clashes of battled. They shouldn't have been down here, but they needed to be down here.

The Forgotten Zone... the area where Eggman's robots come to die...

It lied deep inside an underground cavern, and it was so cold. Water dripped from the ceiling, oddly enough, and gave such an unsettling feeling to all those it touched. It was also dark... oh so dark... Cyber Rouge's eyes had a flashlight mode though, so that was good...

All around the hall, lied the fallen bodies of those discarded by Eggman. There was one that looked like a ostrich, another that had drills for arms and nose, a fat gold one, and a skinny silver one, and of course, thousands or so failed Metal Sonic creations. And that was at the entrance of cavern, inside the cavern, things got worse. The lied everywhere, these creations. Rusted, old, dented, scratched, like a graveyard. Rouge just saw them as robots, while Hope... she felt hurt. She loved robots, so much. And this was horrible. Still... they had a job to do, they had a being to locate.

"Omega!" Hope called out, though she knew it was fruitless, "Are you there!?"

As expected, she gained no answer. Her foot moving along the metal bodies, they caused loud bangs to bounce off the wall.

"Why would Omega be here?" Rouge questioned as she scanned the cavern.

"Dr. Robotnik said he was here. He also said he was going to do something with his body, but I don't think that went along to well..."

Her eyes moving up and down, she searched over for her red friend. He had to be here, somewhere. She was so sure of it... but damn, the bodies of robots were everywhere. If he was here, it would take so long to find him. But she wouldn't give up. Not now, not ever...

Suddenly, Rouge grabbed her, and flew off in the sky. With a bird's eye view, they could better analyze the ground, and find the being they were searching for. Teal lit eyes turning green, the bat started to scan everything. The room was so much bigger than originally believed. What appeared to be a simple flat room was actually egg-shaped, of course, and the robots they were walking on were just the most recent toss aways. Many other robots lied under the other ones, and they just kept going. But, if Hope said Omega was here, then she was sure they'd find him.

Green eyes moving up and down, she searched valiantly for her red ally. He would be here, somewhere... somewhere...

"Omega..." Hope called out, her blue eyes moving up and down, "You there?"

The silence was so overbearing! She just needed some confirmation that Omega was here, any! A claw, a sight, anything!

"Hope..." Rouge said, gaining the teen's attention, "I've got something..."

The mechanic looked up immediately as hope filled her.

"What is it!?" she cried out.

"It's like a... distress signal..." Rouge murmured, "You can hear it because you aren't a robot, but..."

"Omega's here?"

The cybernetic bat looked to her.

"Yeah..." she said, "Omega's here..."

Their eyesight looked away.

"We just have to find him..."

...

Hurtling through wind and sound, it was so hard to find his way back up. It didn't end until he slammed, back first, into a building. Letting out a cough, he fell onto the street in pain.

"Dammit!" Sonic yelled, slamming his fist down, "I was so close!"

He saw the heart, he saw it, and then it just closed up. Damn, that thing moves fast!

"Sonic!" Knuckles said, landing near his ally, "Are you okay?"

"I've been better..." he murmured, standing up.

"You're plan isn't working so well..." Shadow murmured as he touched down.

"Every time I get close," Sonic stated, "that thing closes up its heart, thing!"

"You're plan needs refinement..." Shadow said, "Because this is the seventh time you've done this."

"Then you come up with something!"

"I already have..." he shifted his eyes up, "Knuckles give me cover fire..."

The echidna's hand began to surge with electricity as he gave a violent smirk.

"I think I can do that!"

A moment later, the two beings flew skyward. Face to face with the god, the monster suddenly roared out,

"Omnia sunt temptata infructuosis!"

Not understanding what he said, nor caring, the two beings shot forward. Shadow kept his ruby eyes trained directly on the god's abdomen, while he dodged the meteors that flew his way. Hand glowing red with energy, he prepared for one Chaos Lance. A meteor came his way, but that rock was destroyed by a stray lightning bolt, thrown by Knuckles. The pathway clear, for the time being at least, Shadow dashed forward. Ruby eyes looking forward, he saw it. Cradled in the silver armor and lava body, that spherical object Sonic spoke of. How odd it looked. Lava lining it, crystals jutting from it, while it pulsated wildly. Was it alive? Was it dead? It wasn't something he wanted to think of...

"CHAOS LANCE!" the hedgehog yelled out.

Throwing forth the red energy in his hand, it flew straight throw the meteors heading his way. Dodging each one with expert aim, it finally slammed into the heart that belonged to Imperfect Solaris. A red explosion roared through the air, and Imperfect Solaris was thrown back. With a mighty scream, the incomplete god cradled his body. Shadow floated away in an attempt to gain distance from the beast, as he gazed at his attack. Did it work? Imperfect Solaris sure was screaming like it did. Finally, the being removed its arms from its body, showing his attack did its damage. Scorch marks were visible around the heart thing, before it was finally covered by the steel plating of Imperfect Solaris' armor. Pleased with his work, Shadow crossed his arms, whilst giving the same emotionless face of always.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," a certain blue hedgehog grumbled, "yuck it up..."

"Oh, I'm yucking it, alright..." Shadow responded, grinning.

"Hey guys," Knuckles said, pointing to the god, "I think its angry."

Around Imperfect Solaris, a series of wormholes opened up. Confused by what the god was planning, the trio of Supers went on the defensive. Imperfect Solaris stretched his hand into one of the wormholes, and caused said hand to appear above the heroes. They spread apart quickly, causing the attack to miss. But, this was a ruse, as Imperfect Solaris stretched his lava hand into another wormhole. Appearing under the heroes, the lava limb struck them suddenly. Clenched in this purple hand of lava, the heroes let out screams of burning pain. They were lucky, since their Super State protected them from lava, but the pain was all to real. And it was only growing tighter.

"AH! IT BURNS!" Sonic screamed out.

"CAN'T GET OUT!" Knuckles stated.

"GOTTA DO SOMETHING!" Shadow yelled.

Closing his eyes, he started to focus. All in his mind, he thought about how much he hated Mephiles. In fact, he thought about how much he hated Dr. Eggman, and Black Doom, and even Sonic! He focused on his hate, and it empowered him.

"CHAOS BLAST!" he roared out, changing red.

The purple lava limb expanded quickly, and a red explosion wave roared out. Imperfect Solaris pulled his arms back through the wormholes, as he recoiled in minor pain. The heroes remained in the sky, however, freed from the god's grasp.

"Thanks Shadow..." Sonic said, taking in deep breaths.

But the black hedgehog didn't answer him. He was to tired too. Between using his Chaos Control to stop the god from healing itself, and the Chaos Blast he just used, not to mention the constant fighting, he was exerting to much power. His fur was changing back to black, and he was about to fall out. But Sonic wouldn't allow this. Grabbing onto his ally, he said,

"Hey, hey, hey, now! You need to stay awake Shadow!"

"I can't," he said through gasps of breath, "I'm to tired!"

"Just a little more..."

"I'll try, but..."

The gold sheen over his fur came back, but it stayed at a lower level. Unlike Sonic, who was so golden he was yellow, Shadow had changed into a mere lighter version of himself. Sure, he was strong, but he was weak, if that makes sense...

"Shadow," Sonic said, "think about Hope here! As awkward as it is for me to say this, she loves you, you know that! Just a little more, and this will be over! Just stay with us!"

Shadow closed his eyes, and started focusing. Sonic was right, he just needed to think on Hope. His fur returned to his glowing gold sheen, but everyone could tell he was tired. He was just working of faith alone.

"Let's end this soon..." he grumbled.

Their eyes returned to Imperfect Solaris. Why did it always end like this? Super form, fighting some eldritch abomination, with the fate of the world at hand. There was just something about life on this planet that was so predictable, yet so fun at the same time.

The temporal god raised its hand, and the earth started to shake. Suddenly, entire city blocks were ripped from Genocide City. The great structures floated around the god in a circular pattern, as if it were some shield. Moments later, strong beams created from pure energy fired their way toward the Super Beings. They dodged it in expert moves, and zoomed their ways toward the imperfect god. With the buildings in their way, it would be tough to make it through, but not impossible.

Being the fastest, Sonic reached it first. A great building came his way, and he spun dashed into it. Landing on a floor in the building, he noticed a series of Egg Pawns screaming for their lives. Sonic rushed through the construct at high speeds, and came out a window on the other end. Shadow was next. As a building flew his way, he merely warped on the other side. Finally, it was Knuckles, who delivered a mountain crushing blow to the building that came near him. Now, all three Super Beings were in the god's midst. The being tried to escape by creating a wormhole, but Shadow called him on his cowardice.

Teleporting via Chaos Control, he appeared before the wormhole. And then, using power he didn't even know he had, he closed the gate way with his speed and power alone. Imperfect Solaris merely flew through the air where the wormhole should have been, and was left surprised. Still awestruck by his lack of escape, he gave the heroes ample time to attack him.

Sonic landed on his hand at great speeds, causing the god to bend down in pain. A moment later, a great Chaos Blast exploded against the beings chest, sending in moving in the opposite direction. When it opened its eyes, it saw Knuckles before it. Showing teeth, the echidna slammed his fist against the air, and some how caused it to expel explosions, like he opened a volcano in the middle of nowhere. The explosions flew away like little heated balls, and slammed against the temporal god, causing pain to course up and down its broken body. With all of this pain going on, it did little to protect the spherical object that was its consciousness.

With the metal plating gone, the god revealed its weakness to all that saw it. Shadow's ruby eyes glared down to the pulsating orb. Just one hit, one great attack that would end it all. All of this would end... All of it...

He dashed to it, as the noises of Sonic and Knuckles' attacks littered the air. Floating before the ball, he focused. Just end it... just let it all fall down... one, last, attack, that would cause all of the fighting, all of the turmoil, all of everything... to come to a close. He touched the orb with his red powered hand.

"What?" Mephiles' voice called, "No... Stop..." he sounded so frightened, so scared, "Shadow the hedgehog... your face... your form... I will remember you... I will kill you..."

"Try as you might, Mephiles..." Shadow answered, "But I will always be here... to stop you..."

"This isn't over... Shadow the hedgehog... As long as you exist... I will too... I am, after all... your shadow..."

The black hedgehog shook his head.

"Call yourself what you please," he answered, before saying lowly, "Chaos... Blast..."

The red energy over his body grew and grew. Imperfect Solaris, realizing it had left its weakness open, tried to close it. But it was too late.

A large, great, and loud explosion roared from the god's abdomen. Red lines of heated energy started to appear on the monster's body, as Shadow's attack started to course all throughout it. Sonic and Knuckles ceased their attacks as they waited for the beings eventual demise. The silver armor started to turn red, the purple crystals started to gleam red, the lava started cooling to rocks. Imperfect Solaris let out loud and great calls of pain and hate. Suddenly, its arms exploded. Imperfect Solaris glared down to it, but suddenly, its other arm exploded. The god's wings stopped flapping, and the creäture fell to the earth. Everything about it had started disintegrating. From the armor on its body, to the rocks of its skin. Every inch of its existence was slowly fading away, as if life itself knew it was something that should not have ever existed.

It was over... every inch of the god known as Solaris was gone. Its body had shined light, and the fragments of the light started to drift off skyward. So pretty, had it not been ugly at the same time. Imperfection... no more...

From the crater in the ground Imperfect Solaris created, a small golden flame appeared. Super Shadow stepped out, his feet making a clicking noise, as the golden shine of his body simmered away. And yet, he didn't feel weak or failed by the notion. No... he felt relieved. For a very rare moment in his life, he smiled. And no, not one of is low, mischievous smirks, this was a genuine smile. A smile normally seen on the blue blur himself. He glared toward the blue skies, and the shining yellow sun, and he smiled. Seconds later, his teeth showed. And he fell back. Exhausted, air constantly going in and out of his body.

This was enough adventure, for now, anyway.

"Shadow!" Sonic called as he descended upon him, "I don't know what you did but, that was way past cool!"

The blue hedgehog threw his arms skyward, and his yellow sheen evaporated moments later. Now the blue blur once more, he fell back on the ground in exhausted bliss. And finally, Knuckles landed. Trying to keep his cool touch exterior, he crossed his arms before his Super State faded away. But of course, his coolness could only get him so far, before his body gave out. Falling back, he too let out gasps for breathes, after the tough and difficult battle. They had all been attacked, shot by meteors, struck by lasers, and hit by time... but in the end, they came out alright. That's all they could ask for, right?

"I love you guys!" Sonic said with a smile.

"Oh, shut up..." Shadow answered.

And everything... everything just seemed to melt away. Here the trio was, gasping for breath, smiles on faces, as their eyes remained locked on the skies. Sure, the entire city around them looked like an atomic bomb fell upon them, but hey... they won, right? Besides, it didn't matter... it _did_ belong to Dr. Robotnik, after all. Nothing could ruin this calmness... nothing...

Except that!

The noise of metal clashing against metal came. Sonic's grin turned into a frantic stare, as the noise entered his ears. He was too weak to keep fighting, and he was sure his friends were too. The noise didn't sound simple, as well, it sounded... heavy. Whatever was making this noise, it wasn't any Egg Pawn, they knew that much.

"Great..." Knuckles said, getting to his feet first.

"I can't keep fighting..." Sonic said, getting up next.

"Dammit... just, dammit..." Shadow said, getting up.

The noise came over a mountain of debris, and it was getting closer. 'CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!' was the noise it made. The heroes tensed up, as they regretted returning to normal so soon. This was not the way they intended on going on. The noise got closer, and they got ready.

Over the debris, a blonde head appeared.

"SHADOW!" Hope called.

Almost immediately, the trio let their arms fall, as a rushing sense of relief fell upon them.

Holding Hope up on his shoulder, was the very violent machine known as E-123 Omega. The machine was a bit dented, and it appeared as a few pieces of his metal had been tampered with, but he was okay.

"Unit E-123 Omega, operational!" he called, assuring his friends of his well-being.

"Omega?" Shadow said, surprised enough.

The robot came to the same area of his ally, and immediately dropped Hope off from his shoulder. She cleared the distance between her and her beloved shortly after, and stopped.

"Shadow," she said, eyes shining, "are you okay?"

Despite the marks and bruises on his body, he felt okay, enough. But he wouldn't show her pain.

Looking away, he said with his usual indifferent voice,

"Yeah, I'm fine..."

Slowly, she grabbed him by the shoulder and lifted him up. Dragging her hand along his body, she felt so hurt by the injuries he sustained. Still, he was alive, as he said. So she was pleased by that.

Probably powered by instinct, Shadow moved a blade of hair from Hope's face almost unconsciously. And then, he just looked into her eyes. Those eyes which had been giving him hope through this journey. Hope... hm... her name was so fitting.

"I'm so happy you're okay, Shadow..." she said, looking away with a blush.

"Really?" Shadow said, gaining a cocky smile, "No god can stop the Ultimate Life form."

He straightened up, and his face got closer to hers. It wasn't known who initiated the kiss first, but neither side seemed to mind it much. Hope hugged Shadow close as their kiss got longer and longer. Despite everything, despite all the terror and heartache... she loved this adventure...

Sure, she was stalked by a dark manifestation of herself. Sure, her friends had been kidnapped, and she herself too. Sure, she was forced to work on some Time Gate, and evil almost destroyed the world. But the key word here was, _almost_. Shadow the hedgehog, this... Mobian that she loved, dammit... he was here, holding her... and they were kissing... She had dreamed moments like this, before... She may have wished the circumstances were different, in some way or another, but ultimately... There was nothing that could ruin this...

"Duh-Awwwww," Sonic mocked from behind, "don't they look cut Knuckles?"

Almost immediately, Hope broke the kiss, as she covered her blushing face. In a teasing way, Sonic started to laugh, but that was ended by Omega, who stepped threateningly toward him. This, of course, caused Knuckles to laugh, which caused Hope to chuckle, and ultimately Shadow himself. All felt good...

Suddenly, Rouge descended upon the group, carrying the Master Emerald in her hands. And, showing a rare act that would probably never be seen again, no, like seriously, _EVER_, again... she handed it to Knuckles. This act caused the Angel Island guardian to stop laughing, and gaze at her.

"Wait a second..." he said, "Am I dead?"

"What!?" Rouge said, feeling insulted by Knuckles' words, "You think I can't do a good deed every now and then!?"

"No!" he barked back, assuredly enough.

Crossing her arms, the bat let out an annoyed grunt, before gazing off. Showing a blush, due to his rudeness, Knuckles said,

"Listen bat... I'm... sorry if I hurt your feelings... or something..."

Suddenly she hugged him close, her robotic body giving off a near death grip.

"That's all I wanted to hear!" she yelled, gleefully.

Now, with a cybernetic bat clenching him, Knuckles gave up an annoyed, and embarrassed, look. Still, after all that happened, he didn't mind the hug.

"Ah man," Sonic said, lurching forward, "I am so ready to get home..."

"Yeah... So am I..." Shadow whispered.

Lifting his hand, he tapped a few invisible buttons on com link. A loud whirring noise echoed somewhere in the city, and moments later, the Phantom Cruiser appeared, in jet mode. It transformed to car mode before the black hedgehog, and the vehicle calmed itself down. Shadow walked over the vehicle, and laid his hand on the side of the car.

"Boy," he murmured, "am I tired..."

"Let's go home..." Cyber Rouge said, arms stretching forward.

United, the group gazed off toward the edge of the city. They heroes hadn't noticed just how close they were to the edge of Genocide City, as the sea on the horizon could be seen. The sunlight reflected off of the water in such a perfect way, and without a cloud in the sky, no shadows lied anywhere.

Perfection...

But now, it was time to go. Sonic said his goodbyes, gave a laugh, and then vanished in a flash of blue. Knuckles rubbed his coveted Master Emerald, before giving a respectful bow to those he just fought alongside with. Wishing them luck, he took off for his island, Master Emerald in hand. So now, here stood Team Dark, mission accomplished. Somewhere in this city, was the group of newbies who were kidnapped by Dr. Robotnik. It probably wouldn't take to long to find them, nor would it take to long to get them back. But there was one problem that remained.

Cyber Rouge crossed her arms, as she gave off a saddened sigh.

"Rouge?" Omega said, walking up, "Are you okay?"

"A little..." she said, "But how am I going to get back to normal?"

"You probably can't feel it," Shadow said, as his hands moved to his inhibitor rings, "but I can..."

"What are you talking about?" Hope questioned.

"Time energies are still in flux around here... its nothing big, as they are too sparse to work together, but..." he looked to Rouge, "I think I can pull them together..."

"And what would that do?" the bat questioned, though she knew he had something good to say.

"Well, If I," he snapped off one of his inhibitor rings, "focus hard enough, I probably can," he snapped off his other inhibitor ring, "turn you back to normal..."

"Shadow, what are you doing?"

Suddenly, his entire body exploded in a gold aura. Shadow's face was tired and haggard, but he was so filled with purpose, he wouldn't let his friend down. As the gold aura around him started to flux and bend, it grew into what resembled a massive tornado. His hair flowing upward, Shadow gave an angry visage and yelled out,

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

The golden aura expanded and expanded, and eventually brushed up alongside Rouge's body. The scanning systems she had in her eyes started to go on the fritz as her body started to warp and change. Rouge couldn't understand it, but she just felt so different. So strange... Her body, it started to give out under her, and she nearly collapsed. She felt cold... she felt cold... she _felt_ cold. She couldn't feel before, so why was this different? The wind, she felt it brush alongside her hair... her _hair_ was back. She could feel the blades of her fur move and curl, as if someone was brushing them, and she felt her wings shorten and bend. Like... they usually did... She opened her mouth... she had a mouth again... she closed her eyes... and saw darkness... sweet beautiful darkness! Not just 0s and 1s! She let out a scream. It wasn't loud, nor was it distorted. It was... normal...

And her eyes... they opened up...

Glaring skyward, she saw the sun. Her eyes moved about, but... they never showed her anything such as files, or her targeting parameter, or the cooling system was working at 100%... she was... normal... She felt so warm... she loved it... her fingers moved alongside dirt and grain... she could feel that... and she could taste the spit in her mouth. Such a taste, which was trivial before, was now so... lovely!

A second later, Shadow's body came into her eyes. He looked down upon her, gave a smile, then stretched forward his hand.

"Are you okay?" he questioned.

Rouge grabbed a hold of his hand. She could see her fingers... they were no longer black and robotic.

"I feel wonderful..." she answered, her voice no longer the distorted robotic style it was.

With a tender tug, Shadow pulled up Rouge to her feet. She had... feet now... not the forcibly bonded boots she had on from before. Coming up from behind, Omega laid a black sheet over Rouge's body. Yes... her body...

She was naked...

In her flash, her muzzle became as red as a cherry. Looking to Shadow, she gave an angry and embarrassed look.

"HEY!" she yelled, "WHY AM I NAKED!?"

"Sorry," Shadow responded, smugly enough, "I can't bring back clothes if you weren't wearing any..."

The bat raised a hand to slap him, but he laughed off her motions carelessly. For some reason, this notion stopped her, and she began laughing a second later. She was normal, again... she was... normal...

"Let's go home..." Hope said, laying her hands around Shadow.

"Let's..." he said.

Walking over to the Phantom Cruiser, he turned the transforming vehicle on. Since Rouge was naked, she was in no mood to fly to civilization. So instead, she crawled into Omega's sharp hands. He didn't seem to annoyed by this motion, showing he had done this before. So, thrusters turning on, the murderous machine started flying above the ground. Shadow, on the other hand, got in the Phantom Cruiser, and leaned back. He didn't feel like running, after the battle, so a nice little cruise through the sky would be good. He shifted his attention over to Hope. The girl, giving a blush, tried her hardest to not look in his eyes. With a low moan, he wagged his finger in a playful manner, saying through nothing, 'come over here.' Hope must have got that message, because she walked over to the hedgehog with a slight move of the hand. Scooting back in the chair, Shadow patted his lap, showing her a nice seat. Right on him... Hope's blush grew, but she didn't fight back. Stepping over the Phantom Cruiser's side, the young mechanic sat calmly in Shadow's lap. He was so warm, and so fuzzy... she felt so good to be here. His hand stretched beyond her, and grabbed a hold of the steering wheel.

"Don't move so much," Shadow said, "I don't know if I could contain myself..."

At first, Hope didn't get it... but... a blush grew seconds later.

Shadow laughed, now knowing his joke hit home, and cranked the vehicle up.

"I can't believe you!" Hope yelled back, but this only made Shadow laugh more.

Still... she wouldn't of minded if he couldn't... contain himself... heh, heh, heh...

Pressing on the gas, Shadow started off on the open, debris filled road. Moments later, after a nice long stretch of road, the Phantom Cruiser started to change. The treads on the bottom side folded up, while the back-end of the car stretched out. Seconds later, wings opened from the side, while fins appeared on the back-end. Thrusters erupting with flames, the Phantom Cruiser took to the skies in its flying mode.

They soared so high, Hope almost got motion sickness. And yet, Shadow's hand on her shoulder, quieted her down. For now, he would take it slow, and be gentle with now. The troubling times were behind them. For Team Dark, all that lied ahead, was the future...

* * *

_Trivia Time!_

_Well, my faithful readers, the story is soon to end. _

_Maybe a chapter or two, but hey, just so you know._

_So, time for me to explain things to yooooooooooooooooou!_

_Imperfect Solaris! I tried to make him as original as I could. Yes, Imperfect Solaris. What I tried to do with him, was make a character who would make a good boss fight... sorta kinda. When I was writing the story though, I kept thinking about usual Solaris. I'm pretty sure you can see this, as this monster implores tactics that the usual Solaris used, such as shooting laser beams, and meteors for some reason._

_Anyway I tried to make Imperfect Solaris feel like a weaker version of himself. In my eyes, Solaris is a god! A super powered being that plays with the dimensions like it was a toy! I'm not sure how three super hedgehogs could beat him, but hey, made for a kick ass final boss. So when I was writing this, I wanted Imperfect Solaris to be weaker. You can tell this because the universe didn't immediately eat itself when it appeared, like the original Solaris did. Not only that, but Imperfect Solaris doesn't have two forms like the original one did. Once Imperfect Solaris died, it died... No more, no less..._

_So, I hope you found Imperfect Solaris interesting, I know I did, but boy was it hard making this fight scene. I don't know why, but describing such a being while three super animals kill it, proved to be more difficult than intended. _

_Another thing, the reversal of Rouge's roboticization. I'm a writer who doesn't like open doors. What that means, is that I don't like loose ends to be left... well, loose. Sure, I could've done a lot of things with Cyber Rouge, but I figured I'd just change her back to normal. I apologize if her curing seemed to quick though. What I wanted to do, was save the curing for the next chapter, but I just felt it to be right if I did it now. The original way of changing her back was much worse than this one. At least the whole 'Shadow uses time energies' thing, makes more sense... kinda..._

_Well, its time I stopped rambling. The end is coming, dare I say, and it will be perfect... I promise._

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	20. Continue?

Continue?

These were the moments they missed...

"So... tell me what happened again?"

"Like a week ago, a group of our men were kidnapped."

"How?"

"Well, everything's pretty sketchy, but with Commander's hospitalization, I think I can tell you."

"So... what happened?"

"Well, a squad of new recruits, lead by Team Dark-"

"Ack! Team Dark! You mean that super soldier group lead by... Shadow?"

"Yeah, that Team Dark! Well, they were leading a group of soldiers to invade one of Dr. Robotnik's air ships. Everything was going well, until Shadow abandoned his post!"

"That traitor! I knew he couldn't be trusted!"

"No, no! Its more than that! Something happened during the mission, and Shadow wouldn't tell. He left his group, and the airship, and everyone was eventually captured."

"Oh! I can't believe him!"

"Shadow came back that same day, and he had a nice long talk with Commander. Afterwards, he was suspended for his actions."

"Good riddance! We can't trust that hedgehog! He's tried killing us before!"

"Hey, now! There's been many a people in this base saved by him, I recommend you quiet yourself!"

"Fine then... so... what happened to our men?"

"We don't know. Commander sent some agents to find them, but... we haven't found anything, as of yet..."

"I pray they're found... sooner or later..."

The two G.U.N. agents pulled away from one another. The brunette, a young newbie, was so full of life. If only she could get over her fear of a certain black hedgehog. Her superior officer though, a stoic and haggard man, let out a low groan. Grabbing a hold of his coffee mug, he took a sip of the burning substance within. His older eyes floated over to the frame of the younger soldier before him, and certain thoughts came to mind. With a smirk, he wagged his finger toward his subordinate, causing her to blush. Slowly standing, she closed the distance between her and her superior, and sat in his lap. A certain, near sensual air floated around the two, and they started in for a kiss.

The door opened.

The superior officer nearly threw his underling from his lap as he shot up. Landing on her bottom, the younger agent let out a low moan. The intruder was yet another foot soldier. Even with that helmet on his head, the soldier showed so much happiness.

"Supervisor!" he said, "Get the Commander on the line, they're back!"

"Who's back!?"

"The agents!"

The older soldier let out a sigh, before nodding. With haggard eyes, he stepped from the room, and exited out the doorway. He marched down the halls, his face filled with indifference, as a group of soldiers followed his frame. Seconds later, the brunette from before walked up.

"Supervisor," she said, brushing her buttocks, "what's going on?"

"You'll see..." he murmured.

Coming to the revolving doors of the G.U.N. base, he glared through the glass. The sun was setting over head, and many shades of reds and orange lied above. Covering the sun with his hand, he allowed a bit of shade to lay on his face, giving him a better view from a long distance. He could see something...

His hand fell onto the revolving door's glass, and he pushed it open slowly. With a twirl, the door opened up, and the Supervisor could step out to the grass ahead. His boots grazed the side of the green, as he marched off toward the approaching masses. The first thing he heard, was a loud 'CLANK!' noise.

The Supervisor's arms crossed over one another, and he came to an abrupt stop. Silence...

"Supervisor Chalmers." a robot's voice boomed, "Good to see you this evening..."

The supervisor brushed his hand through his hair, before shifting his gaze to the machine who said those words.

"E-123 Omega," he said, "good to see you again as well."

The machine was a bit dented, scratched, and it appeared as if his metal had been tampered with. He would need quite a buffering at the base. Chalmer's eyes moved skyward, and sitting on the robot's shoulders, was Rouge, arms crossed. Other than a bandage or two, the bat was flawless, showing her captors had been kind to her.

"Agent Rouge." Chalmers said.

"Supervisor..." she answered.

"I see you have brought back all of the kidnapped soldiers."

"Yes..." she answered, before her teal eyes turned to him, "Where's G.U.N. Commander?"

The supervisor let out a sigh.

"Some things have changed over the week, Agent Rouge..." he shifted his gaze toward the base, "Allow us to evaluate you, and we'll fill you in on the way."

With a nod, the bat agreed to his terms. A second later, she, her robotic ally, the Supervisor, and the squadron of soldiers they had brought along, started off for the base. Time flies by, don't it?

In a few hours, they'd be home again, sleeping soundly.

...

The Commander's eyes gazed toward the ceiling. He hated this... being stuck on some bed, unable to move, unable to do whatever he pleased. The only noises came from the heart monitor, the air conditioner, and the TV with its endless infomercials. If he had a gun... he'd be shooting himself right now... Damn those blasted infomercials.

"With the new HighFlex," it said, "you'd get sculpted abs like me!"

"Oh my GOD!" G.U.N. Commander screamed out, angered by this commercial.

He laid back his head, and started to think on the papers he'd have to sign after this little stint. Oh boy... stacks of paper was more entertaining than these blasted commercials and their products that didn't work. Well... it wasn't all bad... his grandchildren were visiting later today, so that would be good... if only they'd get here faster...

The door slid open, and a red boot stepped in. Blonde hair moving up and down, Hope glared around the room. She never liked hospitals. They almost always stunk of death to her. Sure, it was a place where people went to get better, but... she just didn't like them.

"Commander?" she whispered over the room.

His green and brown eyes moved over to the girl beside him. Once again, she was wearing her coveted red shirt and black overalls. But... a lighter, and brighter tone was on her face. She seemed... happier...

"Commander?" she called again, getting closer.

The G.U.N. Leader gazed long and hard at her. Ever since his heart attack, he had nightmares about her and those green eyes. They subsided a day ago, but... he was still weary of his presence.

"Commander," Hope said, giving him a hurt face, "it wasn't me... I didn't do it..."

His heterochromia eyes looked away, as an aged groan escaped his lips. He didn't want to look at her. Even if it was Mephiles or Solaris, or Hope or whatever... that heart attack he suffered... it felt like a betrayal on Hope's part. Even if she wasn't the one who caused it...

"Commander," she said, grabbing a hold of his wrinkled hands, "you have to believe me..."

He remained silent though. Who were the orderlies that allowed this girl inside? Did he not send out a manhunt for her? She did cause him a heart attack, sorta...

It didn't matter, she was here, beside him, trying to beckon to his heart of stone.

"Commander? Please say something..."

He didn't believe her... he didn't believe her... You don't become G.U.N. Commander by trusting everyone and everything. You always listened to your gut, and listened to your mind. And his gut and mind was saying that she was untrustworthy.

"Commander, please..." she groaned, "Just listen to me..."

Finally, he looked to her. Those blue eyes she owned gazed back into his aged ones. Hope... her name was so fitting... He always enjoyed the presence of the girl. Honestly, in the entire world, the Commander always felt she was one of the few people he could talk to, someone he could have an intelligent conversation with. But dammit... that night... it put a thorn in their relationship.

"Commander?" she called, "Commander?"

He said nothing.

"His name was Mephiles..." she stated, "I don't know why... but... he tried to ruin my life... or something... I... I..."

Mephiles... that's the name she called herself that night... but those eyes... Gazing into Hope's eyes, he didn't understand how they could become the green snakes he saw that time.

"I... have a lot to tell you..." Hope murmured, looking away, "Okay... Shadow never abandoned his post, that day on the Egg Carrier... I... was being stalked by Mephiles, and I overheard you talking about Solaris in the mission briefing... Mephiles called himself Solaris, when I met him... If... if Eggman was trying to summon this... Solaris thing, and Mephiles called himself Solaris I... I needed answers... I snuck aboard the Harrier Jet that Team Dark was using to invade. Once the coast was clear, and the jet was in the Egg Carrier, I tried sneaking off to speak with the doctor." she chuckled, "God... that was so stupid... When I got off the jet, I... Eggman he..." she nearly tear up, "It was my fault... Eggman expelled the Harrier Jet, and me along with it... I'm not sure when or why but... as I was falling, Shadow rescued me... He didn't abandon his post, he came to rescue me. Once he saved me, the Egg Carrier disappeared... Shadow didn't tell you because... He knew the consequences I'd face... he took the brunt of your force, and accepted his punishment... but he wouldn't take it lying down... Shadow left to find his team on his own, even though you suspended him... I... left with Shadow..." she looked to him, "I wasn't here... I didn't give you that heart attack... It was Mephiles, not me..."

But his eyes showed no emotional. As professional as always, the Commander gazed skyward. He was thinking long and hard on her words. Mephiles... what is a Mephiles?

"Did you succeed..." the Commander murmured, his eyes on the ceiling.

Hope was taken off guard by his words. She was about to stutter, but the Commander lifted his hand.

"Uh... yes... we, uh, rescued our agents... from Eggman..."

The Commander nodded, while his eyes opened and closed.

"Why are you telling me this?" he questioned, "You know the consequences..."

Hope didn't know why she was telling him this. She looked to the ground, and started to regret her decision. But... she needed to clear her name... She needed to bring honor to her name. That's what mattered her, nothing else. But what next? What would happen to her now? Should she explain more? About how she aided Dr. Robotnik? Should she explain her relationship to the madman? Should she say how this Mephiles thing almost ended the world by becoming some unfinished monster? She was dying to know. She was willing to say anything, _anything_, if it meant she would be respected again... anything...

"You should be lucky I like you, Hope..." the Commander murmured, "Of all my agents, you're one of the best... thoughtful... intelligent... kind... virtues this planet needs, but many overlook. You help keep this place running..." he stared at her, "But... even you need the correct punishment..."

Hope tensed up. Here it comes...

The Commander lifted up his hand. Folding out, three fingers...

"I'm giving you three months suspension..." he murmured, "Now get out of here... I have nothing more to say..."

Hope felt her heart race. Not because of her punishment, but because a weight had been lifted from her. Leaping up, she wrapped her mechanic arms around his body in a loving and warm embrace.

"Thank you, Commander..." she whispered.

"Daddy!" a voice called from behind.

The mechanic looked to the doorway. Standing their, with grey hair like her father, a reasonably young woman. She was Commander's daughter, and a recent mother herself. In her arms, the young baby that would continue his family legacy.

"Oh, Daddy," the woman said, "am I interrupting something?"

"No, no," Hope commented, "I was just... going under evaluation..."

The girl broke her embrace from her commanding officer, and shifted her attention over to the woman before her. With a respectful and embarrassed bow, she moved off beyond the Commander's daughter.

Walking down the halls, she suddenly found a youthful stride. Three months... she got off easy, of course... But why? Why was the Commander being so kind to her? Well... only he would know... It was as if... he expected this... all of this...

Her hand found the down button on the elevator...

...

_Let's see here... This is Agent Rouge the bat, recently returned from her kidnapping._

_ A week ago, I believe, being stuck in Eggman's base, its hard to remember... but, about a week ago, Agent Shadow the hedgehog abandoned his post for reasons not specified. Upon leaving his post, I, Agent E-123 Omega, and a squadron of soldiers, were captured aboard Eggman's flying fortresses, the Egg Carrier. The doctor brought us to his base known as Genocide City, where he attempted to break our wills with various tortures. At this time, he revealed a new kind of robot know as, Mephiles. The machine known as Mephiles had the ability to take the form of those whose shade it captured. Using this ability, it attempted to kill the G.U.N. Commander by way of a forced heart attack, where this machine fortunately failed. The machine then used its form to take various plans and information from G.U.N.'s database. Sending the information back to Eggman, the Dr. attempted to create something know as a Time Gate. With said Time Gate, the doctor was planning on taking over the world, though his ultimate plan was not revealed. Fortunately, the plan failed by way of Sonic the hedgehog. He and Knuckles the echidna defeated the Doctor, and rescued us from Genocide City._

Rouge pulled back, as her eyes reflected the words. The only light in her office came from the setting sun in the window, and the lights of the computer. Pressing the print button, she waited for her evaluation to come out. Sure it was short, and obviously filled with lies, but she didn't care. If G.U.N. knew Shadow lied to the Commander, and he disobeyed the orders of suspension, then his actions would be labeled as AWOL, and he'd be dishonorably discharged. They couldn't have that now, could they?

So, this was the summary. She was going to hand this in to Supervisor Chalmers, and prepare for a nice vacation. With all that just happened, she felt like she deserved it. Maybe she'll spend some time at Resort Island... that place was always nice. Or maybe Flicky Island, or perhaps Empire City, she did enjoy the city life. With a smirk though, she knew what she really wanted to do. She had that Master Emerald in her hand for quite some time, and she enjoyed it. She wondered, would that echidna mind a visit?

Omega entered the room, his red optics gazing around. He was still dented, as he didn't trust any other mechanic but Hope. She promised to repair him back at the club, so the only thing he had to do was go there. He looked to Rouge, and she looked back.

"C'mon Omega," she said, taking the paper she recently printed from the printer, "let's go home..."

The robot nodded.

"Affirmative..."

...

The wind in the park was always so calming... Well... all wind was calming to her...

Blue eyes gazing skyward, she looked to the shades of the trees over head. For a first since this whole venture started, she didn't feel like the shadows were watching her. He really was dead then... She felt ecstatic as that thought ran through her mind. No more Mephiles...

Her boots traveled along the dirt path so slowly though. She was taking in the sights, enjoying her evening, as she could. It was all over... The day, the adventure, her relationship with her uncle. Yup, for the best...

The sun had already gone over the horizon, and a few fleeting colors of purple remained. The moon was beginning to rise, and a few stars were visible. Her fingers moved to her hair, and she slowly brushed a few blades of blond strands away. She felt so good... and so normal... so... herself right now...

She stopped. Gazing up to the tree before her, she saw a furry black and red leg slouch over the side. She giggled a bit, raised her hand, and made a few whistle calls whilst waving. The being on the tree limb gained her call, as the foot raised itself back onto the branch. Gazing back down to her, ruby eyes aflame, was Shadow.

"Enjoying yourself?" Hope questioned, with a smile.

He said nothing, and merely scoffed. Looking off, he crossed his arms.

"Come down here, Shadow." Hope stated, her eyes shining.

The hedgehog let out a quick sigh, as his feet hung over the edge.

"Shadow..." Hope whined, childishly.

"You're taking this to the extreme, Hope..." Shadow murmured, gazing down.

With a quick hop, he leaped down from the branch, and to the girl who loved him so much. She got closer...

"Shadow..." she whispered, her fingers touching his chest hair.

He said nothing.

"Shadow..." she said, getting even closer.

Still, he remained silent. Hope's eyes closed.

"Shadow..." she whispered.

Her lips met his. This kiss was different, than the ones they shared times before. No... it wasn't a childish kiss of lips on lips, it was more... adult...

At first, it was simple. Hope's upper lip, laid atop Shadow's, while her bottom lip, laid in between his. But then, Shadow grabbed her by the shoulder's, and brought her closer. His fur felt so warm against her skin. The kiss deepened, and Shadow opened his mouth. Hope felt a strange sensation touch her tongue, and her eyes opened. Gazing to Shadow with half closed eyes, she saw his eyes were closed shut. But... that thing brushing up against her tongue started to massage it. Eyes rolling in her head, she unconsciously let out a moan.

So... this was what it felt like... a kiss like this... it was... magical...

Shadow's tongue continued to massage hers, before it suddenly snaked its way out. Hope felt her heart drop at the feeling... she wanted more...

Their lips parted, and Hope started panting. She hadn't even realized air escaped her.

"Shadow..." she whispered, her blue orbs gazing up into his eyes, "I love you..."

"Yeah..." he answered back, flatly enough, "I know..."

The girl's face bent into minor anger, as she wondered why he didn't say the words back. Shadow picked up on this, and started laughing.

"C'mon Shadow, just say it!" she demanded.

"You're still a kid, Hope... still a kid!"

He turned his back to her, and started walking away from the dirt path. Stomping her feet, Hope groaned and walked after him. Coming out on the other side of the trees, she saw Shadow had taken a seat on the hill-side. The park of Station Square was so nice this evening. The lights on the lamp-post were shining brightly, while the lights from the buildings around aided in the brilliance. Almost instinctively, Hope sat beside him. A second later, her arms reached around his body, and her head lied in the turf of white chest hair he owned. Closing her eyes, she ruffled the chest fur with her cheek, as she moved her head up and down. It felt good... his silky fur, and the noise it made... Mmmm...

"Shadow..." she said, gaining his attention.

"What?" he asked, bluntly enough.

"Does... does this make us boyfriend and girlfriend?"

There was silence in the air between them. Looking up, Hope scanned Shadow's face. He looked back down with a smirk, before saying,

"So childish, Hope, boyfriend and girlfriend..."

"Oh come on!" she said, springing up, "Aren't we?"

"Let's just say... our relationship can't be defined to labels such as 'boyfriend and girlfriend'."

Hope wouldn't accept that as an answer, but she knew that was all she was getting from the hedgehog. And, honestly, that's exactly what she wanted. His cold stature, his sometimes robotic way of thinking, his cool indifference... Hope loved all of it.

As Shadow chuckled on the words he said to Hope, the girl quieted down. Moments later, she joined in on his laugh, and laid her head back down on his chest. Fingers in his chest fur, she caused a pleased reaction to surface from Shadow's lips. A moment later, his ungloved hand found Hope's hair. He ruffled her hair with his fingers, and placed another kiss on her forehead.

"Get up real quick, will ya?" he said, moving her off.

Hope gave him a confused stare, before relenting to his words. Standing up Shadow quickly put back on his glove. His ruby eyes floated down the hill of Station Square park, and he noticed a certain blue hedgehog.

"Sonic?" Hope said, surprised, "What's he doing here?"

"I promised Amy a date with her hero," Shadow said, easily enough, "I don't break promises..."

Down the hill, the pink hedgehog in question appeared. Hands outstretched, she called out Sonic's name at the top of her lungs. The blue blur locked up, and face away. Jade eyes met ruby ones. If Sonic had any thoughts of running, they were dashed away, as Shadow gave him a death glare. Sonic nodded, albeit unhappily, and turned around. And, as usual, his body met Amy's death grip.

Moments later, they were off, Amy's hand forced tightly around Sonic's. He wasn't getting away now, even if he tried. They started off for Station Square's center, and for a very specific amusement park inside.

"Where are they going?" Hope questioned, as her blue eyes followed them.

"Twinkle Park..." Shadow answered, his arms crossed over one another.

He looked to her.

"Have you ever been?" he suddenly asked.

"Me? No..." she murmured, "I don't leave the base often..."

"Of course you do," he said gazing to her, "come on... let's go..."

"Go where?"

"I need to make sure this date goes perfectly," Shadow answered, "I'm not having Sonic run away... but more importantly..." he looked to her, "From what I've heard, Cute Couples get in free..."

At first Hope didn't get it. It took her some time for her to realize that he was referring to them. Instead of giggling and blushing though, the girl gave the hedgehog a sly smirk.

"I thought our relationship didn't go by labels..." she said, teasingly.

"It doesn't," he answered, "but it gets me in free... I don't feel like sneaking inside..."

Before Shadow started walking, he stopped. Eyes gazing down, he let out a quick and low sigh. A second later, his hand moved forward toward Hope. She looked at it with wide eyes, before realizing what he wanted her to do.

Her slender fingers slid in between his, and she grabbed a hold of his palm.

Without saying another word, the couple stepped off. Twinkle Park was a bit of a ways away, so they'd be walking for sometime. Amy hadn't brought her car, as she wanted to savor her moments with her hero. This pretty much meant Shadow would be walking with Hope for a good while. Which meant, he'd be exposing their relationship to all they passed. But of course... he didn't care... those humans could judge them however they wanted...

Eh... this was a bit _too_ slow... Releasing his grip on Hope's hand, he opted to hold her bridal style. She let out a yelp at the sudden movement, but quieted down moments later. Gazing into Shadow's ruby eyes, as he nonchalantly glared back. It was all she could have ever hoped for. Moving forward she kissed him...

...

Water, water and more water! That's all he saw, on every side!

The injured doctor let out a groan, while his face showed patches of bandages and coils. Genocide City was in shambles, his various modes of transportation were destroyed, and he was left on the open seas in nothing by a boat! Well... it could've been worse... he could've been dead...

"Doctor 'CLICK!' Doctor, 'CLICK!' Doctor 'CLICK!'" Android Shadow murmured from behind.

Turning around, the aged maniac saw his gold and black clone moving the oar to and fro. The black fur on its body had been torn and injured, while the gold lines were a bit faded. How he survived the blast from the Satellite gun was beyond Eggman's understanding. Even he knew he didn't make the android _that_ strong.

"What's wrong, Android Shadow!?" the Doctor spat, rage in his voice.

"We have 'CLICK!' seven hours 'CLICK!' before arrival 'CLICK!' at destination. 'CLICK!'"

"You told me that one hour ago!" the insidious Doctor yelled, "Stop telling me stuff I know!"

The Android shifted its broken eyesight elsewhere, and quieted down. Sighing, the doctor shifted his attention to Metal Sonic. The blue demon was just as battered as his allies. One of his eyes was off completely, while the other one flickered every now and then. The blue paint job Metal Sonic was known for had black scorch marks, while his silver limbs were dented and scratched. He didn't care though... his mind just remained trained on his hatred.

"Oh Metal Sonic," the doctor called out, "how I wish I kept Android Shadow silent like you..."

The blue robot let out a series of clicks and beeps. Seconds later, he shifted his eyesight toward the sky. Laying back, the maniacal doctor shifted his blue eyes toward the open seas.

Water, water, and more water! That's all he saw on every side!

This was only a set back... a minor stumble in his grand plans. He'd lose a thousands times, he'd lose a million times, he'd even lose a billion times if it ment one thing! He'd take all these failures with a smile, because it ment only one thing.

One day, the planet would be his! The Eggman Empire will rise!

Feeling empowered by his own words, the Doctor stood up tall. Eyes looking skyward, he started to laugh and laugh!

And their boat. Their small boat with the Eggman symbol on the side... it sailed off into the sunset.

Finito

* * *

_And so, another story of mine has been ended._

_20 Chapters and over 90 thousand words have finally been silenced._

_First of all, I want to say, thanks. Thanks to my favoriters, my followers, and my reviewers for reading this story over the past two months. I enjoy writing, but I enjoy it more when someone reads my work. I can write as much as I want, but if no one is reading it, then there's no point, well, for me at least._

_I really wanna say thanks to The Devines, Reclaimer 7, Bang Rowdyruff, Chad Doe, Christainsoldier5, Gamyie, killtony, Ultra Chaos, FluteGurl12 and ABSOselfRBED. The one thing I love about making stories is reviews. I love it when people tell me what they liked or didn't liked, what they enjoyed, what they didn't enjoyed, and what they loved and didn't love. Just reading about how someone else enjoyed my stuff makes me feel so... good inside! These people, who I've called out, just always went out of their way to tell me what they liked._

_Well now, I suppose its time for my final Trivia Time!_

_First off, Hope Kintobor. I don't read the Archie Sonic Comics much, but I always enjoyed her character. Sure, she was like a Maria clone at first, but she slowly became her own character. The one thing I never understood though, is pairings. Everyone loves to shack Shadow up with Amy, or Rouge, or freaking Cream, heck, even Mina Mongoose, but never Hope. Heck, Hope is the only one I've seen show affection towards Shadow, and most people don't even know she exists. When I started writing this story, I wanted to do something different, and I think I did. Yeah, lets see how much fans start to like this couple... I... yeah... Besides, I really like Hope, and its a shame she has little to no stories on . I guess I'll have to rectify that!_

_Next thing, the love! I enjoy my romance stories! Yeah, I'm a man, I'll say it! As tall and as manly as I am, I enjoy my occasional love stories! When I started this story, I wanted the love in it to be pretty one sided, but not to the point of depression. Isn't it always weird how in stories someone gets turned down and they go all depressed? When I made this story, I wanted Hope's affection for Shadow to be some taboo hidden love and lust. I think I got that, but when it came to Shadow, I tried to make his change gradual. From slight little looks over to Hope, to making out seen in this chapter, I didn't want the love to just happen! Sure, it occurred in a week, but hey, Romeo and Juliet happens in only six days... somehow..._

_So, let me tell you how the original version of this story was, because oh man was it different! Originally, the Time Gate was going to work, and Mephiles wasn't going to use it to fuse with Iblis, not again. What Mephiles was going to do in this story, was go back in time and kill Shadow before he awoke on the ark. This would've caused a wicked time paradox, where a lot of things changed. I didn't follow this plotline, because it would've made the story longer than it needed to be, and Mephiles already has the ability to travel through time. Makes me wonder though... why didn't he just go back in time and kill Shadow if he hated him so much... maybe he has a problem with his time traveling, or something._

_Oh yeah, and Silver was going to appear... didn't make it though..._

_You know what... this is the first story I wrote that doesn't have a cliffhanger ending... I must be going up in the world!_

_Well, this is the end of Shadows of Hope I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Though its the end, I have one last trick up my sleeve. One final chapter, that has nothing to do with anything._

_If you all want it, I'll give it to you. One final chapter that's only plot is pure fluff. A nice little story that tells Hope's little date with Shadow at Twinkle Park. Ya'know, because I'm a nice guy like that._

_Till next time, best wishes!_

_Maverick Kay Prime_


	21. Reasons

_Well here it is, the bonus chapter of Shadows of Hope, the story that, has nothing to tie in with anyway, and is pure fluff! So I'll tell you now, you don't have to read this chapter, as the story ended last chapter, but I'm pretty sure you will anyway._

_And oh, by the by, if you don't enjoy fluff, this ain't for you... and stuff... whateves..._

_Maverick Kay Prime_

* * *

Reasons

She flicked the blonde hair from her blue eyes. Gazing away, she took in the full form of her reflection. The Mirror House... it was such a cold and scary place. Hm... the mechanic had never taken in her full form in a mirror, not in a while at least. Her face was a bit peachier, and her eyes shined at a greater brilliance.

Was that possible? Did eyes really do that? She never had time to think on it... not now, at least...

She glared down to her red shirt. A few blades of black and white hairs were on it... _his _hairs... Did hedgehogs shed? Was this a problem she'd have to deal with in the coming days? She prayed not... she could already feel the burning stinging eyes of her colleagues when they realized what she had been doing... with _him_...

Wow... the Mirror House was so cold... she could see white puffs of air escape her mouth, and dye the glass with a misty shine. Clenching onto her shoulders, she let out a few shivers, before gazing away. The halls stretched on endlessly, and with the darkened atmosphere, this was a place that could easily interject fear within people. Why would a place as bright and as whimsical as Twinkle Park, have such a dark and foreboding building within it?

"Oh Sonic..." a certain pink hedgehog's voice called, "I'm so happy you're here to protect me..."

"Uh... yeah, Amy..." the blue dude responded, "I'm, uh... always here..."

"It's so nice to see this place was fixed since the last time I came here..."

"What happened the last time you were here?"

"Oh... nothing!"

They were in another hall, and probably didn't even know the mechanic was here. She wanted what they had, right now. She wanted to be cradled in the arms of her hero, with him assuring her of her safety. She wanted to be seen in public, and not be looked down upon. She wanted to show no fear, or apprehinsiveness, when _he_ was around. Her dark... ultimate... hero...

Where was he?

"Hope?" his voice resonated over the silent air.

She wanted to look at him, but... she couldn't take the embarrassment she was feeling. Her cheeks had so quickly gone from a lively pink, to a cherry red. Why was she acting this way around him? Did she not spend the entire time walking here, held up in his arms. Maybe those snickering eyes of those they passed did something to her. Those prying eyes of humans and mobians alike... watching how she was held up in his arms. She was afraid, embarrassed, confused, and... angry... but...

"Hope?" he called again.

She needed to feel safe... she needed to feel... him...

He obliged.

His gloved hand grabbed a hold of her waist. Still so embarrassed, she didn't look to him. His hand dragged up and down her side, in such a loving caress. To be touched like this... it was magical...

His hand slid under her overalls, and came to the side of her red shirt. A light chuckle exited his mouth, as he marveled at the red fabric. His fingers traveled to the side of her skin, and started to move up and down it. Hope, unconsciously, let out a gasp at the feeling, as her lover touched her.

"Shadow..." she said, through a gasp.

Her eyes floated over to him. His violent crimson eyes stared back. So mechanical, so heartless, so cold. And she loved him for that. She must have looked so stupid right now. Eyes half closed, body shivering from his touches and the cold, blush growing greater. And she was panting... what next?

But looking into his eyes... it quieted her down... Her panting came to a stop, and her eyes... slowly floated elsewhere... She couldn't stand to look at him, not like this. She felt so unworthy, for some reason. Those people... when she gazed into Shadow's eyes as she did now, she just saw those people. Those people... who looked down upon their relationship. It was taboo, as is... but... why did it make her feel so hated?

Hope was always like this. She always had feelings for mobians... _always_... To her, they were so handsome, and strong, and beautiful. The likes of someone like Sonic, was more attractive than some young actor. They could do things normal humans couldn't do, and she was so enamored with those abilities.

So to be with a mobian, who loved and cherished her... And, she was with Shadow the hedgehog himself! The aloof, mysterious, indifferent, cool, powerful, sometimes cocky, hero of the Earth! He had saved the world from aliens, cynical Doctors, and Time Gods... _himself_... In all honesty, this should have been a dream come true... and it was, but...

It came with attachments she wasn't expecting... she couldn't take everyone's eyes.

She wished she was like Shadow... she wished she could be more like him. Free from all those fears, free from all those eyes. She wished she could have his fearlessness, she wished she could have his not caring attitude. When those people looked at them on the way over here... he didn't even give them the time of day. He didn't care... he just didn't care...

But she knew better... she knew Shadow shared many things with her. She knew how he had to face his own fears, and feel the stinging eyes of those who hated or feared him. And his relationship with Hope... that only increased those attributes.

She needed to feel safe... in his arms...

"Hope," Shadow said, his voice filled with concern, "are you okay?"

His hands removed themselves from her sides, and found their way on her face. Cupping it lovingly, he gazed into her blue eyes.

"You're hurt, Hope," he said, understanding so quickly, "what's wrong?"

She had no answer to give him. Eyes moving up, she just stared off into the distance. She saw their reflection. His stature, comforting her, with his hands around her face. She gave a flustered look, as her eyes returned to Shadow. She needed to feel safe...

"I just," she finally answered, the first words she said, "wanna stay like this... for a while..."

Shadow nodded. He knew what she meant. Wanna stay like this for a while... it was like a secret message to him. He pulled close her face, and kissed her sweet lips.

There was always something about kisses. Hope could've said 'I love you' to Shadow a million times, but it would've meant very little. All of it, paled in comparison, to a kiss. She wanted more. She wanted to feel more of his love. She wanted to feel how he really felt about her.

Was that so wrong?

She fell onto her rump, and laid her back onto a mirror. Eyes closed, she only focused on Shadow's kisses. To kiss Shadow the hedgehog... he tried his hardest to make people believe he was this cold person, and in all honesty, he was a cold person. But these kisses sure did dash away those thoughts. So loving... so nice... the way his lips caress hers, the way the noises it made echoed off the walls. That's all she heard... her cold breath, the noise of their kisses. It was so... such a... she couldn't... explain it...

Shadow's tongue snaked its way into her jaw, and she felt it. What was it about these kisses that always sent her mind to the moon? She always felt like her head was rising, and her heart was plummeting. It was... euphoric, to put it lightly.

But she couldn't help wondering. Who taught Shadow how to kiss like this? He couldn't have learned it by himself, could he? His skills with his kisses were better than Hope had originally intended. She was sure that kisses with Shadow would have been awkward, and filled with childish glee, but... it wasn't... Shadow's moves with his mouth and tongue was oh so different than she expected.

Even now, as his tongue move along side hers, caressing it, touching it, tickling it... She couldn't explain it.

And... he was so good at other things...

His hands, they moved up and down her side, touching the bare skin under her shirt. He kept them low though, not wanting to touch the fabric known as a bra. But... would Hope have really minded? She thought about that. Not in a place like this, of course but...

Sex...

"Sonic!" Amy's voice cried, "That's not how you hold a hand!"

Her black hero pulled away, his ruby eyes aflame. Hope looked at him, as the intrusive voices ruined the moment. His eyes as red as always, it looked as if Shadow had never started kissing at all. How did he do that? How did he go from passion to none, in no time at all?

"Give me a second..." he said, his voice as stern as usual.

Standing up from the girl, he gazed skyward. Blinding white and blue lights flashed from his body, and he vanished.

How could he do that to her? How could he leave her like that? Eyes moving to the other side of the hall, she saw her reflection. Her cheeks remained red from the kissing, while her eyes took in other things. Her shirt had been moved up beyond the sides of her overalls, revealing the flesh underneath. At the very top, one could see just a bit of her pink bra.

Hope rolled down her shirt, and got to her feet so quickly. She felt like... well... to be honest... she felt like some kind of slut...

Why, though? Why did she feel like this? She had been raised to only do these things with someone she loves. And she loves Shadow, so... why did she feel so wrong? Why did her heart scream and yell at her, like she was some kind of whore, giving her body out to any man who asked for it? That's not how Hope was, she was a good girl, and she loved Shadow. So... why?

She just felt prying eyes. The eyes of people looking down upon her, like she was the worse kind of person. To love a Mobian... humans were beyond that. They were animals... not people...

"Hey, Shadow, what are you doing here?" Sonic's voice cried.

"You blue idiot," he said back, "that's not how you hold a hand."

Hope couldn't see them, but she heard a ruckus. Sonic yelling let go, Amy letting out a minor scream, and Shadow grunting. Seconds later, all of that died down, and Shadow said,

"See... you idiot..."

"Wow... that surprisingly works..." Amy answered.

A second later, Hope heard the vanishing noise of Shadow's Chaos Control. She stood up then, and gazed down the hall. She needed to escape, before he got back. So she started off, down the hall... She could hear his footsteps moving down the hall, searching for her.

"Hope?" his voice cried out, "Hope?"

She just... needed to steal herself from... all of this...

"Hope!"

...

"Hey little girl, want some cotton candy?"

Her blue eyes shifted slowly. That voice was so cartoonish sounding while also overbearing at the same time. Who was the one that was speaking to her? It was so hard to put a finger on that voice.

Gazing around, she searched for the speaker, while at the same time taking in the sights of Twinkle Park. It was so big, the park was. The ceiling looked like glass, and outside of said glass, was lights and stars reminiscent of space. Bright lights pattered the area around, while the ground itself was brown, much like a board walk. In the backdrop, she could hear the noises of kids playing in pools, as well as others playing on various rides.

"Hello!" he called again, "Little girl!"

She turned around to face the speaker. Holding a large amount of cotton candy, amounts he could barely hold, was a green crocodile. He was wearing a tie, a vest, and a cheery attitude. She recognized this being, though she had never met him before.

"You..." she murmured, "You're Vector, aren't you? Leader of the Chaotix?"

"Wow!" the crocodile said, grinning, "My reputation precedes me!"

Hand stretching forward, he continued with,

"Want some cotton candy little girl?"

But Hope wasn't really in the mood. Cotton candy was a substance that brightened up people's exteriors, but... she didn't feel so cheery... not today.

Raising her hand, she said gestured 'no' to the croc. Her face was filled with disdain and unhappiness, showing she wasn't in the mood for lightheartedness.

"Hey, hey, hey now," Vector called, getting closer, "what's the matter? Why is a little girl like you so sad?"

Who was this guy to intrude on her like this? Sure, he was only being nice, but... jeeze! Maybe it was his overbearing stature, and his admittedly, annoying voice, but she felt like he had no right to do this! What was happening to her? She never felt this rude, even in her own mind, so... why was this happening?

"Hey, little girl, you alright?"

"Yeah..." she lied, causing the croc's eye to raise.

"Hey now, lying to a crocodile isn't smart." he warned, getting closer, "Now tell me, what's up?"

Well... maybe his voice wasn't _that_ annoying. He was just trying to be a good man. That was nicer than a lot of the other things she seen so far.

"Uh... well..." she said, finding it hard to speak.

"If you don't wanna talk, I understand." Vector commented.

"No, no..." Hope murmured, "It... deals with my boyfriend..."

Shadow would flip if he heard her say that. That thought made her chuckle mentally.

"Well, uh... what's wrong with your boyfriend?" Vector asked.

"Nothings wrong with him," Hope said, "its... what's wrong with everyone else..."

"Well..." Vector hunched down, so he could be at eye level with her, "What's wrong with everyone else?"

"My boyfriend is... different..." she said, her voice a stammer.

"And... you don't like that?"

"No, I do! It's just that... everyone else is... not so... accepting of his difference..."

"Why's that?" he commented.

"I don't know... our being together is... taboo, should I say..."

She looked to him. Vector's eyes pulled back. He knew what she was talking about, he is a detective, after all.

"Oh... oh! I... uh... understand..." he said, gaining an embarrassed blush, "I... see... he's... _that_ kind of different..."

"Yeah... he's a mo-"

"No! Don't say it, I get it!" Vector stated, giving a smile, "You don't need to explain anymore..."

"So... do you see where I'm coming from?"

"Yeah," he murmured, "you and... your boyfriend, aren't so... alike," he said, "and I assume people don't like that?"

"On the way here... you should've seen the eyes they were giving us..."

"Oh, those are just looks!" Vector said, waving his hand, "If I was held back by words and eyes, I wouldn't be here now!"

Gazing down to the cotton candy in his hands, he didn't feel as if this was the best life to show the saddened girl. So, giving a grin, he assured with,

"Uh... this is just a little job, ya'know!"

"I think I understand..." Hope murmured.

"Listen, little girl," Vector said, "don't be so hurt by what people say, or how they look at you!"

"Easy for you to say," Hope answered, coldly enough, "You aren't dating a..."

She turned around.

"I know that!" he answered, "And I understand! Believe me... I like a woman of my own who... well... Listen, little girl, if you keep bending to what people think of you, you'll never be able to change. Whether you date a... or not..."

"HEY! COTTON CANDY!" some kids yelled.

The crocodile shifted his attention elsewhere, and gave a great smile. All the kids that ran to him started trying to take the mounds of puffy colorful candy. He didn't try fighting them off and handed them the objects with which they wanted. But, his body never wavered to far from Hope.

Once the last children had been pleased, he was left with one last bundle of cotton candy. Shifting his attention back to the girl he tried comforting, he gave another smile.

"Here!" he said, handing forth the candy, "Take this, and give one to your boyfriend, I'm sure he'll enjoy it!"

Though she knew better, the young mechanic took the cotton sugary treat from the tall crocodile. The thought of Shadow eating cotton candy, while nonexistent, played continuously in Hope's mind. But... she still didn't feel to good.

"And don't sweat things too much." Vector said, his voice lighter, "If you do, you won't get anywhere..."

Hope gazed up to him. He was trying his absolute best to make this girl feel good. She had never seen so much kindness come from a stranger before. He really wanted her to feel better.

"I can say but so much," Vector said, "but alas, I think this is something that you solve with your boyfriend..."

"My boyfriend..." she repeated.

"Hope!" Shadow's voice called from elsewhere, "Hope! Where are you!?"

The crocodile caught wind of the call, and gazed skyward. Almost on instinct, he could tell the girl who was before him owned the name.

"I think your boyfriend is looking for you." Vector called, "Hope?"

She nodded. Gazing up to the crocodile, she brushed a blade of hair from her face, while at the same time giving a smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Vector..." she said, with a polite bow.

"Don't mention it!" he answered.

Eyes moving elsewhere, the blonde girl ran off for the voice calling her name, cotton candy in her hands. Vector crossed his arms however, while a plethora of thoughts ran into his mind.

"A human dating a mobian," he murmured, "never thought I'd see the day..."

Suddenly, a radio in his vest started to buzz. Withdrawing the small metal contraption, he lifted it to his reptilian ears.

"Yo!" he called, "Espio, this you!?"

"Vector," the purple chameleon responded, "our target has arrived."

"Good! Let's get a move on! I think I've had my fill for today!"

"Oh, can we please go to the arcade! Just real quick! C'mon a game or two! Vector, Vector!"

"Quiet Charmy!" he barked into the machine, "Let's go!"

Switching off the radio, the croc placed it back into his vest. As he stepped off though, he felt as if something was tugging at his heart-strings. That voice... the one that called out Hope's name... why did that sound familiar? If he didn't know any better, he'd say it was Shadow, but...

Shadow... dating a human? Forget that! Shadow, dating anybody? Yeah right...

...

Amy and Sonic walked hand in hand before him, while his ruby eyes followed closely. Sonic had so many fans. Girls, boys, women, men, all shapes, all sizes, came up to shake his hand. No one came to shake Shadow's hand. In fact, many tried to pass him by. He really didn't care though. He was like some kind of ninja, invisible to all but those who needed to see him. Arms crossed, he went blended in with the crowds, who didn't know how many times he saved them. But as his ruby eyes followed the couple whose date he promised, he never stopped his own little search.

"Hope!" he would call out, every now and then, eyes searching, "Hope! Where are you!?"

His answer touched his quills.

Not knowing who this intruder was, Shadow spun around, fist raised. His quick movements caused the girl to flinch, which in turn, made him stop his sudden speed.

"Hope?" he said, almost questioning, "Where did you go? What happened? Why did you leave?"

His eyes floated to the cotton candy in his hands, and his questions ceased immediately. He could see something wrong with her eyes.

"Hope?" he said, concerned, "Are you alright?"

"Shadow..." she said, "We need to talk..."

Her hand floated over with the cotton candy, and she handed it to him. With ruby eyes aflame, he scanned the sugary object. It was like, diabetes on a stick. Why would people enjoy this thing? With an eyebrow raised he analyzed it closely.

"Its called cotton candy," Hope answered, with a giggle, "it tastes really good..."

"Yeah..." Shadow answered, "I'll be the judge of that..."

Tongue sticking forward, he quickly licked the tuff of the cotton. It filled his mouth sugary goodness. Pulling back, he flinched at how, surprisingly, good it was.

"Do you like it?" Hope questioned, her blue orbs taking in the sight.

"Its... tolerable..." he murmured, looking away.

"Shadow..." she cooed.

"Oh, Sonic!" Amy's voice cried, "Look! The Tunnel of Love!"

"Oh no!" the blue blur answered.

"What did you say!?" Amy barked, eyes blazing.

"I said, let's go in!" Sonic lied.

"I thought so..." she murmured, her death grip growing, "Now come on!"

Pulling the blue hero away, the pink hedgehog started off for the heart-shaped boat ride. Shadow, however, crossed his arms. Tunnel's of Love, how could anyone find that blasted thing enjoyable. It was nothing but a slow boat ride down a dark cavern, with heart-shaped lights everywhere. He'd sooner pass on that. But he knew he couldn't. Gazing up to the blonde girl beside him, he knew she would most likely enjoy the ride.

"Hope," he said, gazing into her blue orbs, "you wanna go along?"

She could sense his not caring attitude toward the ride though. So, not wanting to make him feel bad, she instead shifted his attention to the ferris wheel that lied not to far away.

"Wanna ride that instead?" she asked.

Really huge... really slow... everyone appears to be ants under you? It felt like Shadow's cup of tea.

Without a thought, he stretched forward his hand, and grabbed a hold of Hope's free one. The nice feeling of his fabric against her fingers felt so nice, even now. Tugging along lightly, he led the blonde girl toward the great ride. There were many people dying to ride but they all had to wait for an empty carriage to move pass. Maybe it was because he was Shadow the hedgehog, but many people shuffled out of his way almost immediately, allowing him to move by. Though he took the good fortune in strides, his partner wasn't so lucky. Gazing around, she could see everyone's eyes prying into her soul, almost analyzing her. She felt sick to her stomach.

He led her up to the ferris wheels. Almost unconsciously, the ferris wheel attendant opened the door to the carriage for them, allowing the two inside. It was very spacious inside, surprisingly, and would probably allow for up to five people inside. Of course, no one would get in the same carriage as Shadow the hedgehog, so the two had the whole area to themselves. Once again, Shadow took this as good fortune, while Hope felt... sicker...

The ferris wheel started moving a minute or two later, and started moving skyward. It was so slow, and would probably take some time before it would get all the way around. Hope glared out the window of the carriage, and took the sights of Twinkle Park. It felt so small now, like a Lego set. Even the castle, as big as that was, appeared to be smaller in size. Hope would have found it so overwhelming, had she not felt so sucky.

Falling back, she sat on the carriage's couch. It felt so soft and plush against her body. Seconds later, she felt something else on her body.

Shadow's hand fell atop her hand, and he pulled it close.

"Hope," he murmured, "you don't look to good today."

Gazing to the steel of the carriage's floor, she let out a deep breath. Shadow needed to know, hell, he deserved to know. But why couldn't she tell him? She felt embarrassed, slutty, and young, all because of the eyes of other people. She just... couldn't tell him... She could feel the tension in the room grow, as Shadow's eyes became near demented. He needed an answer... and she needed to say something...

"I love you, Shadow..." she said, not expecting an answer.

"What's wrong, Hope?" he questioned again, "Why did you leave the Mirror House like that? Ever since we got here... you've been... distant..."

Here was Shadow the hedgehog, trying his hardest to comfort her. Wow... somethings can get so backwards.

Lifting the cotton candy to her mouth, the girl took a bite. It tasted so good and sugary, but it did little to alleviate her mind.

"Shadow..." she said, looking to him, "You love me, right?"

His eyes grew half close. He wouldn't say it, she knew he wouldn't.

"Shadow... I..." she continued, "I just... I feel so... wrong..."

Looking to her lap, she closed her eyes. She could feel faint tears grow.

"Why's that?" he questioned.

"I feel so wrong... about us..."

"Being together?" he stated, his tone a question.

"Yeah... about us..."

"Hope..." his voice sounded... hurt... she couldn't look at him, "I... understand how you feel... I'll just... remove myself..."

"NO!" she cried, grabbing a hold of him, "It's not like that! Shadow, I love you so much, it's just that..."

"Just that... what?" he murmured, looking to her.

"Their eyes," she relented, "I can feel the eyes of people looking at us, as we pass them by..." she began sulking again, "Everyone looks at us like we're some kind of travesty... some kind of... monster..."

The silence came back. Not wanting to look at Shadow's eyes, Hope kept hers closed. She just waited...

"Is that so bad?" he said, opening her eyes.

"How could you say that?" she questioned, her hand drying her of any tears.

"I'm just saying Hope," he said, "is it so bad how they look at us?"

"Haven't you noticed it?" she asked.

"Course I have," he said, a slight chuckle accompanying his words, "I notice a lot of things."

"Then... how are you so unaffected?" she said, not understanding.

"Hope... They're just eyes... people look at me all the time. Whenever I see their eyes, I can see how they fear me, hate me, among other things." he looked to her, "I don't let it get to me."

"How are you so strong like that?" she questioned, "I... I wish I was like you..."

"You are like me." Shadow said.

She couldn't believe his words.

"What was that?" she asked, shocked.

"I said, you are like me." he cupped her face with his hands, "You may not see it, but I do..."

"Shadow, sorry for being frank but, we're nothing alike..."

"Yes, in many ways," he responded, "but... in some ways, we are alike... Our never say die attitude, unwillingness to give up... how we care about or friends..." he smiled, "Sure, we aren't alike in things that we enjoy, or our likes and dislikes, but... We have attributes akin to one another..."

"I just don't understand you," Hope said, "you're just too... willing..."

"Hope... I do care about you... and when I care about something, I don't care what happens, I try to protect it. Try to make it... happy... If you're so hurt by our being together... If it makes you so happy to have people watch you then... maybe... we shouldn't..."

She pressed her lips to his. Just as she stated before kisses were so magical. She could have said, 'I love you' to Shadow, but it wouldn't have mattered. One simple kiss quieted him down, and showed him how much she cared about him. Pulling away, she gazed into his eyes.

"I just don't wanna feel like this anymore..." she answered, "Feel so... wrong..."

"Hope," Shadow said, "I don't care how other people look at us... I just care about how you, look at us... If you accept this relationship as wrong, and that's how you feel forever then... we shouldn't be in one... I don't want you to feel wrong..."

"I don't think this relationship is wrong!" Hope stated, "But... everyone else does."

"Then, why are we having this conversation?"

That caught her off guard.

"What?" she questioned.

"If you don't see this as wrong, then why are we talking like this? Who cares how other people feel? It only matters how you feel... You need to stop caring about other people, Hope..."

Was that the reason why? She cared to much? She knew Shadow had an unfeeling, uncaring nature. He was so cold and heartless to many, and his lack of mercy was blatant to all. Was that the reason why the eyes of others didn't affect him? He just didn't care... it was so simple.

"But I do care..." Hope said, "I just can't help but to..."

"Well if you do care," Shadow said, "then you should care where it really counts."

"What do you mean?"

"Go ahead, care! Care as much as you want, but..." he got closer, "only care for where it really counts."

"Where does it count?" she said, eyes closing.

"With me..." he answered, "Don't care for others, but me..."

He kissed her.

Just like before, his kiss was so good. Caressing her lips with his caused Hope to tremble. She shouldn't care, she thought, only care about him. That's what love is. Caring for your partner, no matter what anyone thought. It was so hard for her to come to terms with it thought. Those eyes that pried into her, it felt so horrible. But... not Shadow's eyes. Whenever his ruby orbs gazed into her, she felt calm, safe, happy even. Comfort... so that's what it means to be loved... what it means, _to_ love...

"Shadow," she said, breaking their kiss, "You said you can read people's eyes..." she looked at him, "what do mines say?"

He started caressing her chin with his finger.

"Lust..." he commented.

Lust... what a weird answer. What did he mean by that?

His hand found the straps of her overalls, and he pulled her in closer again. Her arm wrapped around her neck, and his lips found hers once again. It was so simple at first, before Shadow deepened it. Forcing Hope's mouth open, he once again grooved his tongue inside of her mouth. She didn't try to fight it off, and only gave a moan. His tongue brushed up along hers so slowly, and Hope could feel and taste every bump. Screw the cotton candy, this was better.

He shifted her body back, and she laid on the carriage's couch. Gazing up to the overbearing hedgehog, she stretched out her hands. More, she wanted more! And he happily obliged.

Shifting up her leg, he moved in for another kiss. Things were heating up a bit to fast, and Hope didn't care in the slightest. All she cared about was Shadow, just as he said. His lips caressed the side of her neck, and caused a new sensation to move up her spine. Giving out a moan, Hope tried her hardest to contain herself. Not here... oh man, those thoughts reared their ugly head.

Sex...

It was at that moment that Shadow sprung up. Ruby eyes as cold and calm as always, he looked down to the girl before him. She rubbed the area on the neck where he kissed her, and let out a loud groan.

"Why'd you stop?" she whined.

"Ride's coming to an end..." Shadow answered.

Hope sprung up, gazed over the side, and noticed how the ground was getting closer. So, instead of many revolutions, like a usual ferris wheel, this one opted for one, really slow one... Those monsters!

"No!" Hope cried, "I don't want it to end so soon!"

"Oh, don't be like that," he said, brushing her cheek, "It was only for a minute or two anyway."

"It felt like hours!"

"Don't worry," Shadow said, glaring at the ferris wheel's exit, "we can continue this... later..."

From his words, Hope felt reassured. Later...

"How much later?" she questioned.

"You have three months suspension, right?" Shadow inquired, the carriage stopped.

"Yes..." she answered.

"Well, we have three months to continue..."

"I'm not accepting that!" Hope whined, much to Shadow's pleasure.

As the carriage door opened, he stepped out laughing, while Hope followed up with angry eyes. She went on and on about silly stuff, but Shadow just didn't care. Arms crossed, he traversed through the crowds of people within Twinkle Park, while his beloved berated him on not telling her much.

That blue hedgehog was probably trying his hardest to get away right now, and we can't have that now, can we?

It was days like this... where everything became instantly... worth it...


End file.
